Yuma, AZ - The owners of Miles Last Resort RV Park in Yuma say this pile of sediment wasn't here a week ago and they want it off the edge of their propriety because it stinks.
"You wouldn't notice it from 100 yards away- but if you were 4 feet away from it like some people are, you would certainly notice it. It contains organic matter, and life forms which will draw pests as it decomposes," says Mark Miles the owner of Miles Last Resort RV park.
Miles who operates the RV park along with his parents say the Yuma Mesa Irrigation Drainage District started cleaning the canal last week and dumping the muck close to where their tenants live.
"They have decided that they want to clean out their canal into a 4ft trench that they dug onto my property easement. This is the first time we have been targeted for this," says Miles.
He says the smelly sludge has even stained some of the RVs close to where it was dumped. The Miles family say they have been in contact with government agencies to have them take samples of the mud to make sure it's not a biohazard, they have also put in a report with the Yuma Police Department.
The Yuma Mesa Irrigation Drainage District says they are conducting routine maintenance. They say the process is called "dipping".
They say it's necessary for the canal to be cleaned so water can flow more easily to irrigate crops in the area.
"We don't feel that it's a real issue, we're going to take a look and see if we can modify our operations in that area but we do have to clean and operate the canal. The canal was there before the trailer park. So we have basically been doing this same type of operation for 50 or 60 years," says Patrick Morgan with the Yuma Mesa Irrigation Drainage District.
Morgan acknowledges that the sediment has an unpleasant smell, but says it eventually goes away once it is completely dry, which can take some time.
The owners of the RV park say they understand the canal needs to be cleaned out, but they would like the sediment to be dumped somewhere else, not near their residents.
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