KCBD, NewsChannel 11 Lubbock |Rio Grande to benefit from sewer plant makeover
Member Center:
Associated Press - September 17, 2009 2:25 PM ET
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - 1 of the West's most important water ways, the Rio Grande, will be getting an infusion of what officials say will be safer and cleaner water once a project to modernize New Mexico's largest wastewater treatment plant is done.
Officials with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority broke ground Thursday on the plant's $7.4 million makeover.
The plant, which treats more than 50 million gallons per day, currently uses chlorine gas to disinfect effluent before it's discharged into the Rio Grande. Over the next year, a disinfection system that uses ultraviolet light will be installed to treat the water.
The authority says the UV system will be safer for the surrounding neighborhood since the treatment plant will no longer handle large amounts of chlorine.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
