Construction is set to begin in early 2015 on a pair of projects that will help preserve and bolster local water supplies in the Victor Valley in Victorville, Calif. On Dec. 18, 2014, the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority (VVWRA) board of commissioners approved a contract with W.M. Lyles Co. for construction of two sub-regional water reclamation plants in Apple Valley and Hesperia, Calif.
The projects include the two sub-regional water reclamation plants, force mains pipeline, percolation ponds and a lift station for the Hesperia sub-regional. The Apple Valley and Hesperia water reclamation plants will be scalping facilities, meaning each will recycle a portion of the wastewater from its local collection system. All solid waste will continue to flow to the VVWRA treatment plant where it will be used to generate power.
The idea for the sub-regional water reclamation plants was first conceived in a VVWRA board meeting in June 1992. Over the past 22 years, the board of commissioners and VVWRA staff have worked to develop an environmentally sustainable project that promotes future economic growth in the Victor Valley. Of the $12 million dollars in grants received, $5 million dollars resulted through the Integrated Planning Process for water resources by partnering with local water agencies, which was led by the Mojave Water Agency.
The Apple Valley and Hesperia sub-regional water reclamation plants will help provide much needed water to an area that averages only 6 in. of rain annually and has been in a severe drought for several years.
“This is a major step forward in preserving our precious drinking water. These water reclamation plants will provide high quality, non-potable, water to be used for landscaping, irrigation and construction," said VVWRA General Manager Logan Olds.
The Apple Valley sub-regional will be located at the southwest corner of Brewster Park while the Hesperia sub-regional will be located where Palomino Ave. meets Mojave St. Initially the plants will provide 2,240 acre-ft of recycled water per year, which is the equivalent to 730 million gal a year. To put that number into perspective, that’s the equivalent to filling 36,500 swimming pools or producing enough recycled water to drain and refill Spring Valley Lake every 2 years.
Construction on the Apple Valley and Hesperia water reclamation plants will create local jobs while the addition of a source of non-potable water promises to promote regional job growth in the future. VVWRA and W.M. Lyles Co. anticipate breaking ground on the projects in February with construction taking about 28 months to complete.
Source: Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority
