The Town has developed an aggressive water reuse program by treating and recharging treated wastewater, or effluent, back into the aquifer. Under state regulations, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (“ADWR”) carefully quantifies the amount of effluent recharged, then allows the same amount of new groundwater to be withdrawn from designated recovery wells. For legal purposes, the recovered water is considered effluent, but it is actually the same groundwater that is otherwise available for use in the water system.
The water is recharged a significant distance from the production wells, which allows natural processes time to give the reclaimed water a final polish to remove any contaminants missed during the treatment process.
The Town recently created a valuable commodity from this waste product. In a first-ever accomplishment, the Town Council directed a public auction of the water credits derived from the effluent recharge process – a deal that can eventually yield $67 Million for the Town. The Effluent Auction received a second place international award by Global Water Intelligence at a ceremony presided by Mohammad Yunis, Nobel Peace Prize Winner at the Whitehall Palace in London, UK.
Putting the effluent to use is important for the Town. As the groundwater allocations become fully utilized, the Town has very limited options for water to supply economic development. Because of outside influences causing delays and uncertainty to the Big Chino Project, effluent credits were the only certain and available water source to fuel job growth and economic security for the community.
The money received for the effluent credits are targeted for two major projects, expanding recharge facilities and helping pay for costs incurred to secure the Big Chino Water Ranch Project.