Construction On New Waste Water Treatment Plant In White Rock Expected To Get Underway This Year

Aerial view of the wastewater treatment plant that has run its course in White Rock. Courtesy/LAC

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily
kirsten@ladailypost.com

The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) worked to keep it operational, but the White Rock Wastewater Treatment Plant has outlived its usefulness.

Residents learned about the treatment plant’s replacement during a virtual public hearing Thursday night.

“The current White Rock wastewater plant was built in 1960s,” DPU Engineering Project Manager Clay Moseley said. “It’s served its functional life. I think we gotten everything out of it that we can possibly can. We’ve undergone a lot of upgrade projects to keep it running but in the end it’s time to replace when the water quality no longer meets our current requirements or current expectations.”

Representatives of different parties involved in the project including DPU, and the design project team from Bohannan Huston, Inc. and AQUA Engineering discussed the specifics of the project and its timeline. The community also was invited to ask questions about the new replacement facility.

Todd Burt, vice president of Bohannan Houston, Inc., reported that the 95 percent plans and specifications for the new treatment plant was submitted for County review this week. He added the final design is expected to be completed in March, with construction beginning this year and the new treatment plant is expected to be finished in 2022. The project cost is estimated to be $17 million; it is being funded through a low-interest loan approved through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan program.

“It’s important to note this facility has continued to be maintained well by the County … and we’ll be looking toward improvements in the next couple of years,” he said.

The goals for the construction project, Burt said, are to produce high quality effluent water, maintain current nitrogen levels, have the capability of processing material onsite and using it at the compost facility, repurpose some things at the old facility and optimize facility design for functionality.

While the treatment plant is being constructed, Burt said residents may notice a few impacts to Overlook Park. For instance, there will be curb and gutter installations, minor drainage improvements and some traffic detouring.

While construction is underway on the new facility, Burt said the old treatment plant will still operate.

Andrea Telmo, project engineer supervisor with the New Mexico Environment Department Construction Programs Bureau, reported during the meeting that the project had undergone an environmental assessment and had a third party “environmental impact document” (or, EID) produced.

The project must stay within the parameters outlined by the EID, and as required by the NMED.

A few questions were posed by the public. They ranged from concerns about construction noise to the project’s impact on wildlife.

Moseley said the noise level generated by the new plant shouldn’t increase, if anything it will be quieter.

Regarding wildlife, Moseley said it is known that the land where the plant is located is a hotspot for wildlife. He said outside of the construction perimeter, nothing will be changed.

A recording of the public hearing is available on the County’s website https://ladpu.com/WR-WRRF.

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