New wastewater treatment plant hard to identify

One might think that taking a tour of a wastewater treatment plant right before lunch would be the best diet in the world.

But at the J.D. Phillips Water Reclamation Facility, a visitor’s nose can barely detect the nasty work under way.

That’s because the plant, Colorado Springs’ second, is enclosed and outfitted with technology to wipe out bad smells.

The facility will be dedicated Friday and open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a public tour Saturday.

Unlike the 68-year-old Las Vegas Wastewater Treatment Plant on the south side, the new plant is in the middle of town, south of Garden of the Gods Road on Mark Dabling Road.

Although bordered by industrial neighbors, its location mandated that residents help plan it, Utilities officials said.

After 50 public meetings that spanned years, the plant sports a design not unlike Invesco Field, sits behind a retaining wall and is 10 feet below the grade of Mark Dabling. Painted blue, it has lids on all phases of operation and features two chemical processes to clean the air.

“Because this plant is in the middle of the city, odor control is a huge issue,” said plant superintendent Jay Hardison. “Our commitment to the public was, we would do whatever we could do with odor control.”

The facility uses a wet chemical scrub process and another using carbon to remove odors before air is emitted from two 48-inch diameter pipes about four stories tall.

The plant began test runs May 14, and so far, so good.

“We haven’t really told anybody we were doing it,” Hardison said, “and I haven’t received any odor complaints.”

The plant is discharging treated wastewater into an interceptor line for final treatment at the Las Vegas plant.

That’s because Utilities officials want to be certain the plant is working properly before discharging treated water into Monument Creek.

Repeated sewage spills into creeks in years past have been a regulatory nightmare, netting record fines from state agencies.

Discharges also are a sore spot with Pueblo, where officials likely will have a say in how Utilities builds a water pipeline from Pueblo Reservoir.

Hence, Utilities’ water services manager Curtis Mitchell said, “There has to be a lot of redundancy here, because we can’t fail.”

The plant also has a backup energy source to keep it running in case of a power failure. That’s crucial because the $80 million plant uses ultraviolent radiation, rather than chlorine, as a final treatment process. UV bulbs, powered by electricity, alter DNA in pathogens such as E. coli bacteria, rendering them harmless.

The plant, named for a former Utilities official, was necessary because of growth, Mitchell said.

It will process 20 million gallons a day when in full swing later this month and is capable of reclaiming 11 million gallons a day for nonpotable use at surrounding parks, golf courses and Colorado College’s grounds.

Mitchell said Utilities transferred six employees from other jobs to run the plant, which is designed to operate with little human oversight.

The plant’s cost has been included in customers’ rates since construction began in 2003, Utilities spokesman Dave Grossman said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0238 or pam.zubeck@gazette.com