On Thursday, March 28, Marana Water staff received the award for “2019 Public Works Environmental Project of the Year - Small Cities/Rural Communities” from the Southern Arizona Branch of the American Public Works Association for the Water Reclamation Facility Phase I Expansion and Recharge Facility.
Also sharing the award were contractors PCL Construction, Carollo Engineers, and HDR.
The project was awarded based on the project’s ability to meet the needs of the community and demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. The Environmental Project of the Year award is for treatment and recycling facilities, landfill reclamation projects, and sewer projects.
The Water Reclamation Facility opened last year and had their grand opening ceremony last November.
The new wastewater facility can treat triple its previous capacity, equating to a total of 1.5 million gallons per day. Marana can now handle up to 10,000 new homes or businesses coming into the area.
The new facility uses a process known as conventional activated sludge treatment. The process uses bacteria and biological matter to break down waste and help purify the water. The facility utilizes two separate treatment trains that can treat up to 750,000 gallons per day each. The two treatment trains also allow for redundancy should maintenance be required.
The recharge facility is able to recharge 100 percent of the effluent from the new water reclamation facility. Marana will receive recharge credits for 100 percent of the water stored in the facility from the Arizona Department of Water Resources. These credits allow the town to provide safe, reliable and sustainable resources for its customers.
“For a successful community in the state of Arizona to be enduring, we have to have proper resource management of our local water supplies,” said Marana Water Director John Kmiec.
The APWA Public Works Project of the Year was established to promote excellence in the management and administration of public works projects by recognizing the alliance between the managing agency, the consultant/architect/engineer, and the contractor who, working together, complete public works projects
The project team from the awrds banquet. From left to right: Amanda Jones (Marana Water), Jared Rubinoff (PCL), Kelley Newman (Carollo), Andrew Gilmore (Carollo), Jesse Schultz (Marana Water), Stephen Dean (Marana Water), Scott Schladweiler (Marana Water) Mike Osborne (Marana Water), Corin Marron (Carollo), and Ty Morton (HDR).
