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Engineer details wastewater options
By Jimmy Biggerstaff / Hi-Desert Star
YUCCA VALLEY — An engineer recommended Yucca Valley’s wastewater treatment plant use ultraviolet rays and solar drying panels at a recent Wastewater Public Advisory Committee meeting at the Hi-Desert Water District office.
Jeff Mohr of Montgomery Watson Harza, the district’s engineering firm, gave a big-picture look at available technologies for the district’s wastewater treatment facility, scheduled to begin treating sewage within four years.
Engineers have been designing a plant that can initially treat one million gallons per day, with capacity to grow. An estimated 83 gallons of sewage per person per day for 12,000 people is the target for the first phase of the project, Mohr explained, using a series of graphs.
Technologies presented and quickly discounted as impractical for this area included no-flush toilets and powering the plant with biogasses that sewer systems naturally produce.
As aesthetically attractive as the alternative is, underground concealed tanks, Mohr explained, are not cost-effective or suitable for future expansion.
The engineer did advocate the use of ultraviolet disinfection for a variety of reasons, including a reduced need to handle hazardous chemicals like chlorine.
“Plus, they look really cool at night,” the otherwise serious Mohr added with a sly grin, eliciting a group chuckle from committee members.
The engineering consensus for this project is the use of solar drying beds, particularly effective in arid climates.
“Nothing has been decided as of now,” Mohr reminded the group.
For odor control, Mohr described a four- to five-foot column filter of wood chips that he said will remove most odors. Minimum power consumption was listed as an advantage of biofiltration.
The 80-acre site for the treatment facility is on the south side of Twentynine Palms Highway, east of Home Depot. Water district officials are studying alternatives on where to locate the various treatment facilities and recharge ponds that will return treated water back into the aquifer.
——
Reporter Jimmy Biggerstaff covers the Hi-Desert Water District. You may reach him at jbiggerstaff@hidesert
star.com.
Jeff Mohr of Montgomery Watson Harza, the district’s engineering firm, gave a big-picture look at available technologies for the district’s wastewater treatment facility, scheduled to begin treating sewage within four years.
Engineers have been designing a plant that can initially treat one million gallons per day, with capacity to grow. An estimated 83 gallons of sewage per person per day for 12,000 people is the target for the first phase of the project, Mohr explained, using a series of graphs.
Technologies presented and quickly discounted as impractical for this area included no-flush toilets and powering the plant with biogasses that sewer systems naturally produce.
As aesthetically attractive as the alternative is, underground concealed tanks, Mohr explained, are not cost-effective or suitable for future expansion.
The engineer did advocate the use of ultraviolet disinfection for a variety of reasons, including a reduced need to handle hazardous chemicals like chlorine.
“Plus, they look really cool at night,” the otherwise serious Mohr added with a sly grin, eliciting a group chuckle from committee members.
The engineering consensus for this project is the use of solar drying beds, particularly effective in arid climates.
“Nothing has been decided as of now,” Mohr reminded the group.
For odor control, Mohr described a four- to five-foot column filter of wood chips that he said will remove most odors. Minimum power consumption was listed as an advantage of biofiltration.
The 80-acre site for the treatment facility is on the south side of Twentynine Palms Highway, east of Home Depot. Water district officials are studying alternatives on where to locate the various treatment facilities and recharge ponds that will return treated water back into the aquifer.
——
Reporter Jimmy Biggerstaff covers the Hi-Desert Water District. You may reach him at jbiggerstaff@hidesert
star.com.
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GGWebGrrl wrote on Jan 17, 2009 1:59 PM: