Haskell introduces modern AquaNereda® Technology at Greenfield Water Reuse Facility in Hurricane, Utah.

Ash Creek Special Service District (ACSSD) was formed in 1979 by Washington County, Utah, to provide wastewater collection, treatment and disposal services for the general health and safety of the citizens living and working in the Washington County District, including the cities of Hurricane, La Verkin and Toquerville. Recently, the district has experienced exponential growth, resulting in increased sewer flows to ACSSD’s collection system and treatment facilities. These challenges created the need for an innovative solution to meet the growing demand for services in the area and optimize the existing infrastructure.

ACSSD’s master plan identified the need for a second decentralized facility that diverts and treats flow from a certain point in the system, reducing the magnitude of collection system improvements that would otherwise be needed to convey flow to a centralized location. The concept of the facility is to shift all sewer flows from La Verkin, Toquerville and a small portion of Hurricane to a decentralized plant located within Confluence Park (the confluence of the Virgin River, Ash Creek and La Verkin Creek). The Virgin River creates a natural division in the system between Hurricane and La Verkin/Toquerville, making Confluence Park the ideal location for a decentralized plant.

The facility features space-saving, energy-efficient technology.

Haskell is constructing a 1.5 million gallons per day (MGD) capacity water reclamation facility with a future buildout flow of 3.5 MGD at a final cost of $47.1 million. The proposed biological treatment process includes the unique AquaNereda® technology. This wastewater treatment method uses aerobic granular sludge (AGS) to treat wastewater. Wastewater flows into a single tank, where it is treated by microorganisms in the AGS. The water is then mixed, aerated and subjected to additional conditions to encourage the formation of sludge granules.

The AquaNereda® process reduces the wastewater treatment plant’s footprint by up to 75% and energy demand by up to 50% compared to conventional technologies. Additionally, it is suitable for new construction and retrofits of small and large plants.

Additional capacity will facilitate growth as the county expands.

The off-site utilities portion of the project includes providing water, natural gas and rerouting sewer trunklines to the new plant. Overall, the construction of the water reclamation facility enables ACSSD to effectively provide water reclamation services not only to the district’s current residents but also to plan and build for future growth.