WELD COUNTY – Construction on a new $475 million wastewater treatment plant, needed to meet the needs of the still-growing northern suburbs, moved a step closer to reality Aug. 17.

    Members of the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District’s board of directors gathered on the site of a former auto salvage yard at U.S. Highway 85 and Weld County Road 2 ½ to shovel ceremonial clumps of dirt. In doing so, they celebrated what district leaders hailed as a new era in regional water treatment.
    Metro Wastewater District Manager Catherine Gerali highlighted the technological advancements the district will utilize at the plant.
    “We have used this plant as an opportunity to sharpen our vision and expand our practice of sustainable treatment,” she said. “Like our existing facility (in Commerce City), this new, advanced treatment plant will rely on the beneficial reuse of bio-solids and will recycle methane gas, which is a byproduct of the treatment process, to generate heat and power for this facility.”
    The new plant, scheduled to go online in 2015, will be spread out over 90 acres of land, which starts at the northwest corner of U.S. Highway 85 and Weld County Road 2 (168th Avenue). At the completion of Phase 1, the plant is expected to serve 300,000 residents in five communities and treat 24-million gallons of water a day.
    John Stulp, special policy advisor to the governor for water, was the keynote speaker for the groundbreaking. He noted the partnerships and cooperation that have enabled construction of the plant – planned since 1982.
    “As we look at a project like this, I’m reminded of looking at the multitude of beneficiaries of the planning and effort that went into the metro district and now into this new plant,” he said. “The beneficiaries aren’t just the water users or the rate payers. Look at the communities that are represented here. They don’t have to go out and build a wastewater treatment plant because they’ve come together. They’re able to economize and put their limited resources into other amenities for the people that they serve.
    “These regional approaches are going to be the new way that we address water issues in Colorado and especially in the West,” he added.
    He jabbed that federal legislators could take a lesson from the power of local governments putting aside differences for the benefit of their communities.
    “I hope the people in D.C. take note of what the metro district has been doing,” Stulp said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. But it happens doing the right thing for the right reason and great benefits.”
    The treatment plant took a lengthy planning process and a protracted effort to secure the land needed for the facility, including a former mobile home park. Land-clearing efforts will continue through the end of the year with construction expected to begin sometime next year.

Contact Kevin Denke at kdenke@metrowestnewspapers.com or 303-659-2522, ext. 225.