By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
In a Jan. 21 Casa Grande City Council study session, officials with Arizona Water Company presented plans to expand the firm’s services east of Interstate 10 to include wastewater treatment.
Several large residential and potential commercial or industrial developments in the area have created a need to create wastewater plants to serve demand, AWC officials said.
AWC is Casa Grande’s private water provider. Until now it has not been involved in wastewater treatment. Expanding into water recycling, however, is a major component of the company’s planning to address service capacity, as are measures to reduce groundwater usage.
According to a local news report, AWC President and CEO Fred Schneider said his firm expects to potentially serve 6,900 residential units at up to 1.7 million gallons of daily wastewater flow. The company is considering the eventual development of two wastewater facilities east of I-10 to address demand. The first would be located near the Post Ranch residential development.
The presentation materials say AWC completed its 208 Amendment application to modify the water quality management plan last November and plans to submit the amendment in either February or March. “208” refers to Section 208 of the Clean Water Act, and an amendment application is needed to build or significantly modify wastewater treatment facilities. Once submitted, the application will go through a review and hearing process with Central Arizona Government, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency, all of which could last through October 2026.
The company also submitted a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity application to the Arizona Corporation Commission last April. A CCN is required for water facility construction. AWC expects to receive approval in March.
Schneider said AWC would partner with PERC Water Corporation to develop the facilities and would partner with developers to fund the effort. AWC is currently working with Casa Grande to determine various funding opportunities. PERC would design, build and operate the facilities under the partnership, according to the presentation materials.
The materials say Phase I of the design-build process could begin as early as this April for a 0.3 million-gallon/day water reclamation facility, with the plant potentially becoming operational by October 2027.
AWC VP of Water Resources Terri Sue Rossi said wastewater would provide roughly a third of the water for the proposed development in the area, which would aid in the designation of an assured water supply and reduce dependence on groundwater.
In the same study session, City Manager Larry Rains discussed the new Arizona procedure of “Alternative Designation of Assured Water Supply,” which modifies longstanding issues with models for water and groundwater. ADAWS will add other sources to groundwater to address the volume requirements needed for State approval for development.
Rains said the issue is a significant one and that Council will be discussing it often in the years to come.
In AWC’s presentation, Schneider said effluent will be a key component under ADAWS that will enable the development of new homes and keep water resources affordably priced.
Rossi added that while past development had relied heavily on groundwater, future planning must reduce that dependence, invest in sustainable water supplies and use existing water resources more effectively.