Martinez Lake residents demand federal help to fix stagnant, clogged water channel
Samuel Kirk
MARTINEZ LAKE, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – A clogged water channel north of Martinez Lake is drawing frustration from longtime residents and business owners who say the stagnation is putting their health, livelihoods, and local wildlife at risk.
More than 700 people have signed a petition urging federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation, to reopen a blocked channel near the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge.
That channel once allowed Colorado River water to flow freely through the lake system, but hasn’t been cleared since 2001.
Charles Bush, who owns Fisher’s Landing, a local resort, says the issue is nothing new.
He said, “It’s just a bad situation. Both of them have been channeled before, just not since 2001. It was fixed back then, and now we’re back to the same place we were before that.”
The stagnant water has led to thick vegetation, algae blooms, and foul odors. More concerning, residents say, are the environmental and public safety hazards, from fish kills to mosquito swarms and even wildlife drinking from polluted waters.
Local resident Lili Whitford says she’s tired of having to raise the alarm again.
“I really like for it to be maintained all the time so we don’t have to do it in the next 20 years,” she said. “But we are having to do this again…to petition for them to come out here. And the stagnant water affects everyone.”
Martinez Lake isn’t just a getaway for locals. It’s a seasonal home for thousands of snowbirds and a recreational hotspot.
“Fishing derbies, boating, and kayaking events rely on clean water,” Bush says.
“Fishing derbies out here go to the back lakes and they get the big fish,” Whitford added. “So we’re really concerned about that, and also the bird life and the wildlife that drink out of this water.”
DelFante echoed the concern, emphasizing the wider impact: “There’s so many people that use this area. We’re local, but we’ve got people from Yuma and all over, and in the winter, it turns into a Mecca for snowbirds.”
Organizers say the petition hasn’t been formally submitted yet. They’re asking more people in the Yuma area to speak up before winter tourism ramps up.
Community members say every signature counts as they fight to protect Martinez Lake for future generations.