This website's content is fully accessible to all browsers, however it will look much better and your experience will be much more enjoyable if you upgrade your browser to one that is standards-compliant.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 14, 2001
Contacts:
Don Ostler, Utah Division of Water Quality Director, (801) 538-6081
Laura Vernon, DEQ Public Information Officer, (801) 536-4484
WHAT: Grand opening ceremony and tour of the new Ashley Valley Water Reclamation Facility (Wastewater Treatment Plant)
WHEN: TOMORROW, June 15, 2001 1 p.m.
WHERE: 4000 E. 2200 South, Vernal, Utah -Directions attached
WHO: The following people will give brief remarks at the grand opening ceremony:
Historical Background
In 1981, the Ashley Valley Sewer Management Board constructed the Ashley Valley Wastewater Treatment Facility to provide treatment for a 70-square-mile service area, which included Ashley Valley and the cities of Vernal and Maeser. The facility consisted of 250 acres of treatment lagoons, a winter storage reservoir, and pumping facilities.
After the facility began operating, water from the treatment lagoons began to seep into the soil at a flow rate of approximately 1 million gallons a day. The water surfaced on a hillside and eventually flowed into nearby Ashley Creek. As the water flowed through the soil, it dissolved and carried a naturally occurring element called selenium with it, polluting Ashley Creek. High concentrations of selenium in Ashley Creek had serious adverse environmental impacts on fish and waterfowl. Because of elevated levels of selenium in fish and waterfowl along Ashley Creek, the Utah Division of Water Quality and Tricounty Health Department issued a health advisory in 1991 cautioning people about consumption of fish or waterfowl from the area. The Ashley Valley sewage lagoons were shown to be a major contributor to the elevated levels of selenium in Ashley Creek.
After careful review of several alternatives for preventing further pollution of the creek, the Ashley Valley Sewer Management Board chose to abandon the lagoons and construct a new facility using a mechanical treatment process. Funding the project proved to be a major undertaking. However, federal, state, and local government agencies as well as the community gathered their resources and committed the funds necessary to design, construct, and maintain the new wastewater treatment facility. With help from Senator Robert Bennett, the U.S. Congress granted $7 million for construction of the facility. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation funded $3.2 million for operation and maintenance. The sewer management board also received $9.6 million in grants and loans from the Utah Water Quality Board and $1.8 million from the Community Impact Board.
June 15, 2001, celebrates the grand opening of the new Ashley Valley Water Reclamation Facility. Once the new facility goes online, water flow into the lagoons will stop and the water that is already there will evaporate. The Utah Division of Water Quality will continue to monitor Ashley Creek for selenium. The creek's water quality is expected to return to beneficial and healthful use for fish and waterfowl.
Contacts
Don Ostler
Utah Division of Water Quality
(801) 538-6081
Allen Massey
Ashley Valley Sewer Management Board
(435) 789-9805
Max Dodson
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 8
(303) 312-6598
David Truman
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(801) 524-3753
Senator Robert Bennett
U.S. Congress
(801) 524-5933
Quick Facts
You are here: Home >