Operations
The primary objective of our wastewater treatment facility is the protection of our water supply. The wastewater that flows into our facility is processed to safeguard the health of our citizens and employees. Untreated wastewater can cause disease, contamination of our drinking water supply, and cause serious degradation of rivers and streams.
The wastewater division operates and maintains a centralized wastewater treatment facility and over 400 miles of sewer lines located throughout the city. Effective wastewater collection and treatment is essential for community health and sanitation. Approximately 6 million gallons of wastewater flows largely unnoticed through our collection system to our treatment facility each day.
The City of Meridian is a vibrant community that enjoys a clean water supply, nearby rivers and streams suitable for recreational purposes and sustains a variety of aquatic life. The treatment of our community’s wastewater is our front-line defense against the contamination of our pristine rivers, streams and drinking water supply.
We recently received the first municipal Class A reclaimed water permit in the state of Idaho. By reusing our wastewater for a variety purposes throughout the city, we can lessen the impact to our drinking water supply. We can use highly treated reclaimed water for irrigation; dust suppression; sewer line flushing; and some industrial processes such as, a source of cooling water and save our potable water supply for domestic uses.
Every gallon of wastewater that is recycled / reclaimed represents one less gallon of effluent that is discharged into the Boise River.
As a part of our long term strategy, we have started a cost benefit and life cycle analysis for bio-solids management alternatives such as composting to create a product that can be beneficially used as a fertilizer. We are also partnering with Boise State University to explore the possibility of producing bio-fuel using our effluent.
Studies have also begun on the feasibility of precipitating phosphorous for use as fertilizer.
Our long term goal is to ensure that our treatment facility is self-sustaining, including recycling and/or reuse of 80% of the waste stream utilizing water reclamation, co-generation, and nutrient recycling.
