Regional San completes $1.7B wastewater treatment project at EG facility

During a ceremony on May 19, the regional wastewater treatment plant in Elk Grove was officially renamed EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility.

Heralded as one of the largest public works projects in Sacramento history, the recently completed EchoWater Project resulted in a $1.7 billion upgrade to the formerly named Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, in Elk Grove.

During a ceremony at the facility on May 19, a new name for the plant was unveiled. It is now known as the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility.

The upgrade gives the plant the ability to "carry out new, tertiary treatment processes that remove 99% of ammonia and 89% of nitrogen from wastewater," notes a California State Water Resources Control Board press statement.

As a result, treated wastewater will be discharged into the Sacramento River, and will also be used for recycled water purposes, such as local agricultural irrigation and supporting habitat conservation land.

This decade-long project, which was partially made possible through $1 billion in State Water Board low-interest loans, commenced following a 2010 decision by the Central Valley Water Board to strengthen the discharge permit of the plant for the purpose of protecting Sacramento River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water quality.

To meet those standards, the project to overhaul the plant's infrastructure and improve its technology was planned and completed. The plant is now the second largest facility of its kind in the nation.

In celebration of the completion of this major upgrade, the May 19 event at the plant presented a program of speakers and the unveiling of the facility's new name.

Attending the gathering were representatives of the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San), the California State Water Resources Control Board, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, and various political officials, including Elk Grove City Council Member Darren Suen.

Suen, who also works as a policy advisor and principal civil engineer for the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, praised the high-level investment that was made to allow this project to be completed.

"Over time, we’re talking over $2 billion total from treatment of the water – our sewage water that comes out of all our toilets – and then being able to recycle that and put it back into the ground for groundwater and also for habitat and species restoration – creating more habitats for birds and fish, that's the importance and significance," he said.

Suen added that the plant's wastewater treatment project is additionally significant, considering the state's drought and flood issues.

"The drought that we just came out of, that won't be the last drought we endure, and so what we’re doing on this massive scale, being able to treat our used water, putting it back into the ground so we can actually use it again one day for agriculture and species, is incredibly important for the sustainability of our entire ecosystem," he said.

"Climate change has shown the extreme events. We know (with) flooding and droughts, this is the new norm, so to speak. And so, we have to be able to recycle and be able to use what we already have."

Christoph Dobson, general manager of Regional San, which owns and operates the wastewater treatment plant in Elk Grove, spoke about the expansion of the plant from a typical standard, secondary wastewater treatment facility to an advanced tertiary wastewater treatment plant.

"That adds two parts to our system," he said. "One is it removes ammonia from the wastewater, which we weren't able to do before, and the other is that it filters the water."

Dobson mentioned that a large pump station will be built at the Elk Grove facility for the purpose of sending wastewater that is treated at the plant to farmlands in Sacramento County.

"The farmers are going to purchase the water from us, and by doing that, they’re able to stop pumping groundwater," he said. "Right now, they pump groundwater, and that's how they irrigate their crops."

Regional San Board Chair David Sander emphasized the cleanliness of wastewater that is treated at this plant.

"We undertook one of the most aggressive modifications to our wastewater treatment that you’ll see anywhere in the country," he said. "But it has yielded the ability to take wastewater and clean it to a condition cleaner than what you would find in the river."

Sander added that the project potentially allows for the irrigation of more than 16,000 acres of agriculture land, using water that "would otherwise be considered a waste."

Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna, who is a member of the Regional San board, mentioned that those who were involved with this project took the responsibility of being stewards of water quality in the region very seriously.

"It's not just the use of water for urban and suburban uses," he said. "It's the fact that we also cherish and respect our riparian river ecosystems."

Serna, who referred to himself as an avid fisherman, also recognized the project's importance to the health of fish in the Sacramento River and the Delta.

Sacramento City Council Member Lisa Kaplan, who also serves as a Regional San board member, stressed the importance of water being used by local farmers from the plant, as opposed to lowering already existing groundwater levels.

"(It) will help environmentally, it creates sustainability," she said. "So, all around, people want to know when they flush their toilet that their water flushes and the water and the wastewater gets treated."

Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board, referred to the plant's upgrade as a "generational moment."

"Even the creation of the plant before this upgrade was a huge feat for the community," he said. "It was a big cost. It took a lot of discussion amongst the community. But then that asset has been here contributing (during) these last decades.

"Now, this upgrade is really bringing the facility to the future, providing the opportunity to recycle water, providing that opportunity connected with groundwater, and then you think of the water-quality benefits downstream to the Delta."

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