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CEDAR CITY — Cedar City gained over $2 million in grant funds to begin a wastewater project that could give the city another water source for turf irrigation at schools, parks and the golf course.
The grant allows the project to begin Phase 1, funding the construction of a Type 1 effluent filtration system at the Cedar City Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility. Effluent water is wastewater. The new system would allow the plant to improve the water produced from Type 2 to Type 1 by using pile cloth disc filters. So, it would be considered safe for human contact and can be used for irrigation at the Cedar Ridge Golf Course and local parks and schools, according to the City Council packet. The water is currently being discharged onto farmland near the plant.
Cedar City's aquifer is depleting, prompting a warning from the Utah Division of Water Rights that without a change in course, the city stands to have its water rights cut, beginning in 2035. A Utah Board of Water Quality staff report states that using the treated Type 1 water for irrigation would "displace water coming from the Cedar Valley aquifer."
The project would begin its first phase at the wastewater treatment plant, with additional phases expected later to construct a pump station, a pipeline from the plant to the city and a winter effluent water storage facility, the council packet states. The first phase will take an estimated 10-12 months to complete.
