The Perris Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility (PVRWRF) is one of four operational plants located in the Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) service area in Southern California's Inland Empire.
Sewage is piped to this 300-acre treatment site from a 120-square-mile service area that includes Perris, Sun City, Romoland, Menifee, and parts of Moreno Valley.
Much of the raw waste water is recycled, purified and then sold for re-use in multiple applications including agricultural irrigation, watering of municipal golf courses and street meridians, parks and school grounds, according to Betty Gibbel, EMWD public affairs officer. Some recycled water is allotted also to San Jacinto Wildlife Areas and local duck clubs.
Treated and reclaimed solid wastes are off-hauled to sites in San Diego where they are mixed into fertilizers and sold commercially.
Facility Expansion
Built originally in 1982 as a 1 million-gallon-per-day (mgd) facility, fast growth in the region has required upgrading and expansion at PVRWRF over the years. Kiewit construction is overseeing this current $148-million PVRWRF upgrade that will eventually bring its recycled water capacity site up to a 22-mgd plant. It will then serve some 73,300 connections with up to 300-gpd raw sewage input capacity. Construction began in 2007 and is scheduled for completion in 2011.
Small Equipment Helps
Kiewit's work site is visible several miles away due to large cranes, and concrete pumping trucks shuttling in and out during the day. But at least one piece of equipment is barely noticeable due to its miniature size. A MultiQuip RAAMAX mini-compactor with front end grader has its place in the equipment lineup.
"We can't put a lot of weight within five feet of newly constructed sewage structure footings, so we use the RAAMAX to get in close," said Jerry Roberts, senior construction inspector for EMWD. "We can only come up to footing level for compaction prior to completion of aeration and similar structures for water testing. This light machine eliminates a lot of the hand work in tight access areas like this one." The lightweight compactor has also been used to spread and compact backfill in certain pipe trench operations.
Construction Hurdle
"Most challenges here — working on an existing plant with underground piping — installing new piping systems in those areas, you will have some construction issues in those areas, especially with alignments," said Roberts.
He added that some new piping will be above ground on pipe racks, which is easier for access and maintenance. n
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