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Indian Bend Wash Area

Geography of Maricopa County, ArizonaSuperfund sites in Arizona
NIBW Superfund 2005 map
NIBW Superfund 2005 map

The Indian Bend Wash area is a Superfund cleanup site in Scottsdale and Tempe, Arizona. It was declared a Superfund site in 1983 after industrial solvents were discovered to have contaminated the groundwater in an approximately 13-square-mile (34 km2) area. It is one of the largest EPA sites in terms of volume of groundwater treated, estimated at 61.3 billion US gallons (232,000,000 m3).During the 1960s, it was typical for companies to dispose industrial solvents directly into the ground and into dry wells. In 1981, volatile organic compounds (VOC) were detected in Tempe and Scottsdale city wells, including trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and chloroform. The wells were shut down immediately, and the area was declared a Superfund site in 1983. Potentially responsible parties Motorola, Siemens, GlaxoSmithKline, along with several smaller companies, have paid for the approximately $100 million in cleanup costs. Cleanup has consisted of several stations that pump and treat groundwater. The area consists of two cleanup sites, the North Indian Bend Wash (NIBW) Superfund site located in Scottsdale (approximately 8 square miles), and the South Indian Bend Wash (SIBW) Superfund site located in Tempe. For eight days in October 2007, trichloroethylene tainted water was released into the water supply of 1500 residents of Scottsdale by the Arizona American Water Company.

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Indian Bend Wash Area
East Thomas Road, Scottsdale

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 33.4803 ° E -111.9118 °
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Address

East Thomas Road 7863
85251 Scottsdale
Arizona, United States
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NIBW Superfund 2005 map
NIBW Superfund 2005 map
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Scottsdale High School

Scottsdale High School was a high school in Scottsdale, Arizona, located at Indian School Road and 74th Street. It opened in 1923 and closed in May 1983. The school site was demolished, and the land was redeveloped for commercial use. The school graduated its first class of students in 1923; two of the three were siblings, Bill and Murle Miller, the children of Charles L. Miller, a state legislator and civic figure whose family had donated the 10-acre (4.0 ha) parcel for the establishment of the school.By the early 1980s, enrollment in the Scottsdale Unified School District was declining; the district's then-superintendent, Philip Gates, was in favor of closing Arcadia High School instead, but it was Scottsdale that was shuttered by a 3–2 board vote in January 1983, as its property value of $10 to $15 million was superior to that of Arcadia and the district was strapped for cash. In 1985, the district was approved to lease the site; it was rezoned for development in 1986 and was demolished beginning in 1987, with the Old Main building being razed in 1992.An attempt was made by alumni to name the district's new high school, which would open in 1995, Scottsdale High School; the district instead opted to honor the recommendation of future parents and students to name it Desert Mountain High School. The school location is commemorated by decorative columns at the corner of Drinkwater and Indian School Road and by a plaque dedicated in 2011 on the site, which now is home to a Hilton Garden Inn hotel.