City of Santa Paula - Santa Paula Water Recycling Facility
Location: Santa Paula, CaliforniaProject Type: Design-Build-Operate-Finance
Capacity: 4.2 MGD, initially rated at 3.4 MGD
Footprint: 1.5 acres
Process Design: Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR)
The City of Santa Paula's wastewater treatment facility was out of compliance and needed replacement, and the City did not have sufficient funds to pay for a new facility. The Regional Water Quality Control Board mandated a tight completion and compliance deadline or the City would be required to pay more than $8 million dollars in fines.
Due to the short timeline and cost-saving opportunities, Santa Paula’s city council cancelled the Design-Bid-Build process and moved the project forward using the Design-Build-Operate-Finance procurement process for its new facility.
Following a competitive selection process, the city council voted in favor of Santa Paula Water LLC, a company formed by PERC Water and Alinda Capital Partners, to design, build, operate and finance a new water recycling facility to treat and recycle 4.2 million gallons per-day (initially rated at 3.4 MGD) to replace its existing wastewater treatment plant built in 1939.
On July 7, 2008, just two months after the contract was awarded, PERC Water broke ground. The facility was in full operation in May 2010, seven months before the December 15, 2010 Regional Board compliance deadline.
The new facility services the city’s population of approximately 32,000 people and is the first facility of its kind to be built under California’s new code 5956 regulations, which encourages public-private partnership by using private investment to solve public infrastructure needs. PERC Water is operating the new facility under a 30-year concession with Santa Paula Water.
Due to the short timeline and cost-saving opportunities, Santa Paula’s city council cancelled the Design-Bid-Build process and moved the project forward using the Design-Build-Operate-Finance procurement process for its new facility.
Following a competitive selection process, the city council voted in favor of Santa Paula Water LLC, a company formed by PERC Water and Alinda Capital Partners, to design, build, operate and finance a new water recycling facility to treat and recycle 4.2 million gallons per-day (initially rated at 3.4 MGD) to replace its existing wastewater treatment plant built in 1939.
On July 7, 2008, just two months after the contract was awarded, PERC Water broke ground. The facility was in full operation in May 2010, seven months before the December 15, 2010 Regional Board compliance deadline.
The new facility services the city’s population of approximately 32,000 people and is the first facility of its kind to be built under California’s new code 5956 regulations, which encourages public-private partnership by using private investment to solve public infrastructure needs. PERC Water is operating the new facility under a 30-year concession with Santa Paula Water.
Key advantages of this facility include:
- City transferred design, construction, financing and operating risk to a private entity for 30 years
- 100% privately funded during one of the most challenging financial and economic periods of the last 50 years, including certainty of financing costs and interest rate risk for the next 30 years
- City did not pay any up front capital costs and began paying a monthly service fee (which includes 30-years of capital replacements, debt service and operations and maintenance) once the facility was in operation
- Facility began full operation seven months ahead of the state’s mandated compliance deadline
- Design enhancements during construction resulting in a projected reduction in energy costs more than 35% (shared equally with the City)
- Facility uses 70% less land than previous design and requires less than 2 acres of land
- Facility is completely enclosed for maximum odor and noise control
- The water produced by the facility is higher quality than the state’s stringent quality requirements and is available for reuse within the community
Awards include:
- Global Water Awards’ 2009 “Water Deal of the Year” Award of Distinction
- Environmental Business Journal 2009 Business Achievement Award - Sustainability & Resource Protection
- Environmental Business Journal 2010 Business Achievement Award - Project Merit
- Design Build Institute of America Western Pacific 2011 "Best Project - Water" Regional Award
- Design-Build Institute of America - Western Pacific - Top Tier Water Award 2011
- National Council for Public-Private Partnerships - 2011 Public-Private Partnership Award for Innovation
On June 30th, 2010 California Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman toured the facility and said it is “a great example of how we can use technology and innovation to improve vital services to Californians.” She further said that “this environmentally friendly project will save Santa Paula residents and businesses money” and that the state of California needs “more of this imaginative thinking.”
Santa Paula Water Recycling Facility informational/media materials:
- Koch Membranes Video Features Santa Paula Facility at WEFTEC 2010
- MBRs Come of Age
- Next-Generation Recycling - A West Coast city shaves the cost of installing one of the nation's largest membrane bioreactor systems by one-third
- PERC and Alinda Awarded California’s First Design-Build-Operate-Finance Water Recycling Facility by City of Santa Paula
- PERC And Alinda Recipients of 2009 Global Water Award Of Distinction for Santa Paula Water Recycling Facility
- City's Water Recycling Power Consumption Costs Cut by up to 15 Percent press release
- California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman Tours the Santa Paula Water Recycling Facility
- Santa Paula Water Recycling Facility - Project Overview
