Bowen Collins & Associates (BCA) presented the results of the feasibility of building a wastewater treatment plant in Ivins at a City Council work meeting on May 19, 2021 (Download the study). Ivins is considering building out a secondary water system in Ivins for irrigation. Currently, we use culinary water for everything. The consultants estimate outdoor water use in Ivins consumes about 50% of our total water use.
Chuck Gillette, the City’s Public Works Director, told the Council that reuse water is the most reliable source for a secondary system. Ivins can get reuse water from St. George’s treatment plant in Bloomington. But it is costly because it has to be pumped uphill. An alternative would be to develop a reuse water system in Ivins. So, the City hired BCA to analyze the feasibility.
One factor that could help make a treatment plant feasible is the Water Conservancy District is considering building a reservoir in Ivins to store reuse water during the winter.
The consultants recommend a granular activated sludge/AquaNereda process as the most appropriate for Ivins because the long-term operation and maintenance costs are less than the other treatment alternatives because it requires less power.
The estimated cost for the treatment plant, which would occupy approximately five (5) acres, is just under $30 million and the best location option for the reservoir would be Graveyard Wash which is located off of Highway 91 across from the storage units that are in Ivins and almost into Santa Clara.
Chuck Gillette commented that if the City of St. George builds the reservoir in Graveyard Wash, they are also looking for a recreational beach and the Ivins plant location might be to west of the substation that is currently there. If they put it on the downhill side of Highway, they could tuck it at a lower elevation and place trees around it to where it would not be visible.
If Ivins builds the treatment plant by financing 100% of the cost, then the City’s annual costs will be significantly higher than if we do nothing for at least the next ten to twenty years. And, if the City passes through the cost in our sewer rates, those would be significantly higher as well. The two charts below show these impacts. However, Chuck Gillette thought that some of the cost, maybe as much as one-third could be covered by grants.
The consultant indicated that another alternative is to do nothing and continue with treatment through the City of St. George and continue purchasing water from the Washington County Water Conservancy District. Chuck Gillette commented that would be assuming that the District has water for Ivins to purchase. That’s the worry.
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