Backhoes, politicians and developers kicked up dirt east of Camp Verde during the festive dedication for the Camp Verde Sanitary District’s new wastewater treatment plant Jan. 25.
Planned for a location north of Hwy. 260 in east Camp Verde, the new plant, part of a $16 million expansion of sewer service in Camp Verde, will eventually treat 650,000 gallons of sludge a day.
The project expands CVSD’s capacity to treat sewage at a rate that stays just ahead of demand, CVSD records state.
The new plant means Camp Verde will enjoy a cleaner
environment, CVSD Board Chairman Rob Witt said.
That’s a change from the past 12 years, when CVSD effluent, or treated sewage, failed to meet government standards, according to CVSD records.
“That wasn’t very environmentally responsible,” Witt said.
“The new plant means we’ll take better care of our environment, but it also means we can have a new businesses come into our community.”
Extending sewer lines across the length of the town will spur development, bringing construction jobs for local tradesmen and trade for local merchants, Witt said.
The expansion also means construction of more than 250 homes planned for Silverado at Simonton Ranch, a subdivision located near the intersection of Finnie Flat Road and Hwy. 260, can finally begin after months of delays, Witt said.
Tumbleweeds presently dot the terraced landscape there, where site-grading wrapped up several months ago. That landscape is about to go through another dramatic change.
Retailers planning stores for the Simonton Ranch development will also start building soon, Witt said.
When the sewer expansion is finally complete, rate-payers will see an increase in their monthly bill, Roy Gugliotta, executive director of the Camp Verde Chamber of Commerce and a recently-appointed member of the CVSD board.
Likewise, some members of the sanitary district will pay an assessment to hook up, as much as $3,500 and possibly more, depending on location.
Still others, many longtime Camp Verde residents, already paid for their hook-up and will not be assessed, Gugliotta said.
Part of the planned extension of lines reaches about a mile north of I-17 on Hwy. 260. That line will relieve hotels and restaurants of the tremendous cost of vaulting and hauling sewage from their locations, a service some business owners currently pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a month, CVSD records state.
Greg Ruland can be reached at 282-7795, Ext. 127 or editor@larsonnewspapers.com
