By Harold Kitching
Casa Grande Dispatch
In this case, money down the drain is not such a bad thing.
Last week’s favorable recommendation to the Casa Grande City Council by the Planning and Zoning Commission to change land use and zoning in the area of the city’s sewer treatment plant is one of the final pieces in constructing a wastewater recharge facility that will also double as a recreation area.
Call it a situation of money in the bank, liquid assets.
As explained to the commission by Deputy Public Works Director Greg Smith, the series of recharge ponds allow top-grade treated sewage plant water to trickle back into the ground, bringing the city money in the form of state water credits that can either be used by the city or sold to developers or other interests.
Sewage water? Brought back for drinking?
It’s pretty much in the eye of the beholder. Although the reclaimed water is usable, the perception among many residents is still yucky.
“Our water as discharged from the plant is A-plus water, it’s better than drinking water,” Smith said. “I’m not volunteering to drink any, but it is classified as better than drinking water.”
The city has bought 140 acres about a quarter mile north and northeast of the treatment plant on West Kortsen Road. The acreage will be integrated into Dave White Regional Park and the trails system master plan, making it a recreation area in addition to recharging up to 2,100 acre feet per year of treated water.
The facility will be operated in conjunction with the city’s managed recharge facility in the North Branch of the Santa Cruz Wash a quarter mile northwest of the treatment plant.
