Groundwater Recharge Projects

Welcome to the newly constructed Sierra Vista Environmental Operations Park. Along with the new reclamation facility comes a new era in environmental stewardship. During the transformation from wastewater facility to water reclamation facility there was also the opportunity to expand some of the environmental projects and programs the City oversees. The new state-of-the-art facility, that encompasses more than 640 acres, includes:

§ Increased treatment capacity from 2.5mgd to 4mgd.
§ Unprecedented protection for the San Pedro River.
§ Significantly increased water quality.
§ A policy shift from wastewater reuse to groundwater recharge.
§ Recharge of 2000-2500 acre-feet in year one; 4000 acre-feet at full build out (15-20 years).
§ A new 1800sf, wildlife viewing platform with bleachers, benches and native landscaping for public enjoyment.
§ Arizona’s only curbside municipal yard waste composting facility.
§ 10 acres of automated sewage processing. § 50 acres of artificial wetlands (up from 7). § 30 acres of water recharge basins.
§ Arizona’s only municipal native grasslands facility with 170 acres now, and an additional 30 acres planned to be seeded.
§ A county regional solid waste transfer station on site (which services City refuse collection operations).

§ Tree farm and future native plant facility.

The center demonstrates strong, integrated, environmental management across a wide spectrum of categories including: recycling, water reuse, waste disposal, native grasslands restoration, wildlife enhancement, waste diversion, public outreach, and responsible stewardship of public land.

The most significant feature of the overall park is the reclamation facility that employs the technical means to clean the incoming polluted water. One of the most noteworthy aspects of the treatment process is that it is an entirely natural process using no chemicals or additives to help clean or sterilize the water. Using a natural process to cleanse the water to drinking water standards is dependent upon the growth of microorganisms within the water to feed on the incoming waste stream.

If the users of the system introduce toxins or chemicals into the system inadvertently, they would kill these microorganisms and subsequently degrade the quality of the treated water. If this were to happen, staff would be forced to waste that water and run it through the irrigation rigs to water the fields instead of cleaning it, turning it into a resource and recharging it to the aquifer. The City’s goals in operating the plant are to efficiently and effectively treat the incoming water to the highest standards and maximize the return to the aquifer, while protecting the downstream and future users of the water supply.

History: Why A New Facility
Over 22 years ago, when the original wastewater facility was designed, wastewater was looked upon as an unwanted commodity. As such, the original treatment facility was constructed to treat the wastewater and dissipate it, on site, through irrigation rigs. This process also caused a lot of the water to be atomized and it simply evaporated into the atmosphere. At the time, this was a very efficient and cost effective method of treatment and disposal.

Today however, times are different and that water is now considered a valuable resource that can be reused. Time has also permitted the old facility to reach its design capacity of 2.5 million gallons of inflow per day (mgd). In order to satisfy future demand it was necessary to enlarge system capacity to 4 mgd. This also presented the opportunity to redesign the facility to reuse most of that previously discarded water. This did not occur without challenge. In order to reuse the incoming water, it had to be treated to a higher level (tertiary) than in the past. Additional funding also had to be found to offset the increased costs associated with the higher level of treatment. Eventually, a $7,525,000 funding packet was put in place and included partners from:

City of Sierra Vista $2,800,000
HUD $295,000
Bureau of Reclamation $1,500,000
Arizona Water Protection Fund $2,300,000
Total Project Cost $7,525,000

Wildlife Viewing Platform
With the completion of the city’s water reclamation facility also comes a new wildlife-viewing platform that overlooks nearly 50 acres of constructed wetlands. These wetlands are located along a major southwestern avian flyway. The facility is open to the public daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Guests planning to visit the facility are asked to read and adhere to all signs and are restricted to the main entrance road and the viewing area. Enjoy your visit and provide for your safety by carrying drinking water and sunscreen in the warmer months. For more information on the viewing area, including a list of bird species that frequent the facility, please download the Bird Viewing Guide.

For more information on the impact of municipal development on local water resources and the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, please refer to the city publication: A Walk Along the San Pedro.