2004 WORK IN PROGRESS
In April, BSU celebrated the completion of its $41 million reverse osmosis water treatment plant. The facility, in combination with the existing water plant, boosted the utility’s water-production capacity from 9 million to 14 million gallons per day.
The reverse-osmosis process forces water through membranes to remove salt and other impurities. The treated reverse osmosis water is blended with traditionally treated water before being piped to BSU’s customers. The new plant removes salt from brackish water drawn from deep in the ground. The utility’s other water-treatment facility taps into a shallower aquifer, a water source that may be subject to floods and droughts.
CH2M Hill served as the construction manager for the two-year-long project, which includes a 20,000-square-foot reverse osmosis plant; a new storage tank; the well field that serves as the water source; and an injection well to dispose of brine, a byproduct of the reverse osmosis process.
The new facility has the capacity to produce 6 million gallons of water a day and has been designed for eventual expansion to a daily capacity of 12 million gallons. With both water treatment plants at full capacity, BSU eventually will produce 20 million gallons of water per day enough to meet the needs of the utility’s service area at build out.
 |
| Gathered in the lobby of the new facility were (left to right) board members Hank Hochstetler, Marc Ciaffone, Harvey Haines, Frank Liles Jr., Paul Attwood, Bob Bachman and John Mathes, with (kneeling) BSU Director of Engineering Pat Jennings, BSU Executive Director Fred Partin and board member David McKee. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
 |
| Joining in the celebration were (left to right) BSU Director of Engineering Pat Jennings; BSU Executive Director Fred Partin; Jacque Rippe, Lower West Coast Regional Director, South Florida Water Management District; Commissioner Ray Judah, Lee County Board of County Commissioners; and Mayor Jay Arend, City of Bonita Springs. |
|
Participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony were (left to right) Director of Engineering Pat Jennings, Executive Director
Fred Partin, past board chair John Mathes and current board chair Bob Bachman. |
|
|
