Clovis’ high tech waste treatment plant nears completion

By David Anthony Scida
The new sewage treatment and water reuse facility for the city of Clovis is close to completion. To fulfill the city’s requirements for efficiency, production benchmarks, expansion, environmental friendliness and with a minimum footprint the project stands out as the only one of its kind in California.

Among many of the technologies the facility uses is the Cannibal process from Siemens that dramatically reduces the sludge produced by 90 to 95% with the plant’s ability to be upgraded from its current capacity of 2.3 MGD (millions of gallons per day) to 8.3 MGD of treated water. The treatment plant and pump station were designed and constructed to esthetically fit in with their locations using a farm house exterior complete with columned porch and rock covered chimney to disguise the tank and other hardware within its walls.

Using one company to design, engineer, build and operate the facility “is a great advantage” says Daniel Burns, project manager, who moved from Sacramento to head up the operation and has been here in Clovis for the entire four years the project has been underway. Burns is enthusiastic regarding the plant’s operation and the company’s commitment to the community.

“We are completely transparent in all aspects of the operation,” he says. He encourages the public to attend the grand opening to be held March 20 of this year.

Because of it’s uniqueness, the plant and operation serve as a model for other municipalities and even received the prestigious Design Build Excellence Award for 2009 from the Design Build Institute. The plant and pump house located on East Ashlan between North Highland and North McCall avenues will serve the needs of northeastern and southeastern Clovis now and into the future as growth demands dictate.

Photo:
Clovis Sewage Treatment and Water-Reuse Pump House
Photo by: Calabria Images/David Anthony Scida