In March 2004, a resident of Cornville contacted the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to request information on arsenic in drinking water. The resident collected six well water samples from their own well and neighbors’ wells and submitted them to a private laboratory for arsenic analysis. The analyses detected arsenic ranging from 15 to 952 μg/L. ADEQ and the community members asked the Arizona Department of Health Services to provide health information about using the water. Initial conversations with the well owner and other community members revealed that many people had concerns about potential health effects from arsenic exposure.

The Superintendent of Tempe Union High School District contacted the Arizona Cancer Registry and asked for assistance in addressing a health concern. He explained that there is a perceived excess of brain tumors among students and staff at Corona del Sol with approximately eight to twelve brain tumors noted in the last few years. The concerns about tumors arose in conjunction with concerns about air quality.