Facility serving Gilroy and Morgan Hill named plant of the year
by environmental association
Gilroy – Separating sludge from wastewater is a messy job, but somebody’s got to do it. And according to a statewide consortium of clean-water experts, South County Regional Wastewater Authority does a superlative job.
On Feb. 24, the facility serving Gilroy and Morgan Hill was recognized as 2005 plant of the year by the Monterey Bay chapter of the California Water Environment Association. The Monterey Bay section covers most of Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
CWEA graded the facility on 19 elements including training and safety, permit compliance and energy conservation.
The facility separates sludge from wastewater and hauls it off-site to a landfill. The remaining wastewater is treated and used to irrigate farms, golf courses, parks and sports grounds. The process, known in the industry as wastewater reclamation, also provides water for industrial use.
Since 1984, Operations Management International, based in Colorado, has operated the SCRWA facility on the city’s southeast edges at 1500 Southside Drive.
“This award is the culmination of over 20 years of hard work and dedication by SCRWA and the OMI staff,” said OMI Project Manager Paul Roy. “This award validates our belief that this is one of the top wastewater and recycled water facilities in California. We will use this honor as a catalyst in raising the bar to continue improving our systems and efforts.”
