Tour of Albuquerque Water Treatment Plant Diversion Facilities
followed by
Water Treatment Plant OR Bear Canyon Recharge Demonstration Project
On Monday afternoon, October 20, conference participants will have an opportunity to tour water projects in Albuquerque that are nearing completion.
Those interested will meet at the conference hotel, Embassy Suites Hotel & Spa, Ocotillo I ballroom, at 1:00 pm. Our host, John Stomp of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, will give us an overview of the tour projects.
At 1:30 pm, participants will board tour buses and travel to Albuquerque's new diversion facilities on the Rio Grande. The diversion facilities consist of 24 sections of bladder dams each capable of independent operation.
The facilities include fish screens and a fish by-pass to protect the endangered silvery minnow. The new pump station will be available for touring. San Juan/Chama water will be diverted from the Rio Grande at a rate of approximately 84 mgd.
After viewing the diversion facilities, tour participants have the option of going to eigher the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) or the Bear Canyon Recharge Demonstration Project.
The WTP is in the final stages of completion this fall and will be preparing for operation. The "state of the art" WTP includes pre-sedimentation ponds, Actiflo sand ballasted sedimentation, ozone, and granular activated carbon filtration. This facility has a capacity of 92 mgd and is expandable to 120 mgd, the largest water treatment facility in New Mexico.
The Bear Canyon Recharge Demonstration Project is the first operating artificial recharge site in the state; it is a project of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority that was designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of artificial recharge through an in-stream infiltration system.
Participants will get to see the Project during an active recharge period. The tour will include a look at the outfall and delivery system, the infiltration reach, the monitoring equipment, and components of public outreach efforts.
The project manager, Stephanie Moore of DBS&A, will provide participants with an overview of the project, including details on the design of the monitoring system, a review of data collected during the first year of operation, and discussion of the adaptive management plan.
Tour buses should arrive back at the hotel around 4:30. Please sign up early for the tour along with your choice of either the WTP or Bear Canyon project when you register so that we can plan accordingly.