Wellton water shut-off extended for Helen Street infrastructure work

North Wellton residents were told to brace for a full water-service interruption as crews worked on Helen Street west of Bank, with the north side of town cut off while Public Works installed three new isolation valves. Helen Street was also closed between Los Angeles Avenue and Oakland Avenue for about 125 feet, and the town said households should plan around the shutoff before service was expected to return.

The town first said water would be off from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16, after an earlier issue forced the schedule to be moved. A later update tied the outage to the County Retention Basin Flood Control Project and said the interruption had expanded beyond the original work zone to the entire north side of town. Another June 17 notice said water service was expected to be restored by about 2 p.m., while still another update said crews would need a 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. interruption to install a line drop for the storm drain, showing how the work schedule continued to shift as the project evolved.

For residents who rely on steady water for household needs, the town’s instructions were straightforward: fill containers, use alternate routes around Helen Street, and be ready for the shutdown window to last longer than planned if crews ran into more complications. The repeated notices made clear that service along the north side was being managed as part of a larger drainage project, not as a one-off repair.

That broader effort is Yuma County’s Wellton Area Drainage Improvements-Phase 2, which includes Helen Street storm drain and retention basin work along with drainage work on Maybelle Street, Central Wellton and Oakland Avenue. County records say the contractor, Accurate Excavation of Arizona, LLC, mobilized equipment on Monday, June 4, 2026, after the project was awarded on February 2, 2026, for $1,877,779.90. Sergio Vizcarra and David Ruvalcaba are listed as project managers and contacts.

Wellton had already warned residents on May 11 about a planned north-side interruption tied to new isolation valves west of Jessie Street, suggesting the Helen Street shutdown was part of a series of utility disruptions linked to the same infrastructure push. At the same time, the town was preparing another water-related change: on June 22, kiosk access for the Free Water Program was set to move from PIN-based entry to a key-based system after officials said non-residents had been misusing the service.