More than 250 residents packed the Yuma Civic Center for a town hall on Thursday to press Attorney General Kris Mayes over decades of biosolids spreading in the Yuma area, raising concerns about flies, illness and potential water contamination.
“I am a concerned citizen for my future in Yuma,” said Sandra K. O’Connor, a Yuma Foothills resident. “It’s polluting our water. It’s eventually going to get to our water table. Who is making these regulations that are making this acceptable in our community?”
The turnout at the Yuma Civic Center reflected long simmering local anger over biosolids, treated sewage sludge spread on agricultural land. Speakers urged soil testing, clearer regulation and a transparent review of local practices.
“There’s been an anecdotal severe increase in flies around Yuma Mesa,” said Dr. Danielle Opfenring Amavisca, a large-animal veterinarian who treats horses and cattle. She said flies can cause tissue infestations and granular lesions in horses and noted reports in other states linking biosolids and contaminants such as PFAS to livestock infections.
“It’s been 40 years, let’s test the soil,” said Taylor Woodman, owner of The Lemon Grove in Yuma, who helped amplify the issue on social media and said the community that grows much of the region’s leafy greens is bearing waste from elsewhere.
Not everyone at the meeting sought restrictions. Twelve employees from AgTech and Western Express attended to oppose the closure of their companies. “I’m trying to keep my job,” said Rodolfo De Anda, a Western Express truck driver of seven years.
Incoming Yuma City Council member Henry Valenzuela asked Mayes what authority the attorney general’s office has to address biosolids and how long any review might take.
Mayes, the state’s top law enforcement officer, said she has used nuisance laws in the past and that her job is to enforce the law “against the facts on the ground.” She told residents she expected to have an answer by December.
