Local and regional government officials, community members and project team workers participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony of the award-winning Santa Paula Water Recycling Facility last week in Santa Paula, Calif.
In 2007, the city of Santa Paula had a non-compliant, almost 70-year-old wastewater treatment facility, which faced severe fines and needed to be replaced quickly. However, the officials lacked certainty of funding, cost and schedule to achieve its compliance mandate, so they chose to utilize a public-private partnership.
In May 2008, the city contracted with Santa Paula Water—an alliance of PERC Water Corp. and Alinda Capital Partners—to design, build, operate and finance the new facility. The facility was completed in May 2010.
The facility has been the recipient of many national and international awards, including most recently the Design-Build Institute of America Western Pacific Region’s top tier Best Project Water Award.
The facility is designed to complement the surrounding area, including a small footprint where all treatment occurs in underground tanks covered by attractive operations buildings.
City officials saved on average more than $10,000 a month in the first seven months of operation as a result of the facility’s energy saving technology. The recycled water produced by the facility exceeds the state requirements by 60% on average, much of that a result of the Koch Membranes utilized in the treatment process.
Source: PERC Water Corp.
