Quintero 150,000-GPD Wastewater Treatment Facility

GHD designed this 150,000 gallon per day treatment plant using a sequencing batch reactor (SBR)-activated sludge process, which included nitrification-denitrification to achieve a class A⁺ finished effluent.

Elements of design included influent flow metering, a fully enclosed duplex pump station, fine screens, first and second stage aeration for nitrification and denitrification, clarification, and aerobic digestion.  Sludge handling was accomplished through centrifuge dewatering.  Odor and noise abatement was incorporated through the total enclosure of headworks screens, aeration and clarification elements, sludge processing, air blowers, and electrical system inside a building.  The design included a bulk liquid sodium hypochlorite disinfection system for the final stage of treatment.  Finished effluent is used to irrigate golf turf.

The entire wastewater treatment layout used less than one acre of land.  Limiting the overall wastewater treatment site through the efficient design and layout of treatment elements coupled with a fully enclosed and landscaped treatment process building reduced the facility’s impact on neighboring land uses.

From a high-end development perspective, several key concerns dictated a thorough design analysis and evaluation in order to deliver this highly effective treatment facility and do so in a manner that didn’t negatively impact the natural beauty of the lush desert terrain nor disturb its tranquility with noise and odor. A final element that had to be addressed was the need to reduce the visual impact of the facility, which was built alongside the Quintero Golf Club. These mandates were reinforced by the City of Peoria which wanted a treatment facility that would require minimum labor intensity but still operate with a range of flexibility capable of achieving a high quality effluent.