New $320 Million Wastewater Plant Now Operating

August 31, 2010

The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority’s new Central Water Reclamation Facility in Cantonment began operations on Monday.

The first wastewater began to flow through the $320 million facility almost six years after Hurricane Ivan’s devastating impact on Northwest Florida and the ECUA’s Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant. The new CWRF off Chemstrand Road  is constructed to withstand Category 5 hurricane force winds of up to 190 mph, and the site is well above sea level, eliminating the potential of hurricane-related flooding.

It will  take a few months before the entire system is fully functional, but it’s expected that all flow will be diverted from the Main Street Plant by January 2011. The rate at which the diversion flow is increased will be determined by how quickly the biological treatment is operating in its new environment at the CWRF. All reclaimed water from the CWRF will go directly to area industries — Gulf Power and International Paper — for use in their industrial processes. When not reused by industry, effluent will be disposed of on spray fields at the plant’s site.

Pictured above and below: The Central Water Reclamation Facility in Cantonment began operations on Monday. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News