The Town of Patagonia Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) is in need of repairs and upgrades. The town contracted Nextgen Engineering from Tucson to assess the WWTP. In their 2019 assessment they offered two options to proceed. The first option is to upgrade the current plant, giving it up to 10 years more of service. The second option is to replace the current plant, which would last up to 25 to 30 years.
The Nextgen report states, “since the most recent WWTP upgrade in 2004, some of the plant equipment has fallen into disrepair and the risk for plant interruptions is increasing.” The most immediate issues are to fix equipment that is inoperable or failing, with an estimated cost of $13,800.
The urgent issues to address within a year or two are extensive. Primarily, “the concrete tank walls around the perimeter of the treatment plant have multiple leaks that allow wastewater onto the surrounding grounds” (Nextgen Report, 2019). Some of the plant equipment runs continuously, like the primary blower for aeration, and either need to be rebuilt or maintained. Nextgen also recommends that the two water operators need additional training and certification. For these urgent needs, the estimated cost is $563,500.
Michael Stabile, the Vice-Mayor, said “We can do the immediate repairs and work on the other parts slowly and surely.”
In time, the plant will need to be replaced. The long-term solution is a newly designed, modular, turnkey plant for approximately $1.6 million.
The Town Manager, David Teel, said, “We will take option One to make the repairs and get another ten or more years out of the plant.” Teel said the “parts are starting to wear and we are trying to stay ahead of the game and keep running it well.” In terms of emergency repairs, Teel said, “It depends on what kind of emergency it is, and we have created a reserve to make repairs and will continue to accumulate reserves to do the required repairs.”
George Deithorn and Juan Urias are town employees and the water operators for the WWTP who work seven days a week to maintain, operate, and report on the various tests required by the state and federal regulations. They also maintain the drinking water plant in town.
They both started working at the plant in 2004, which had just been upgraded from holding ponds to the current sophisticated treatment plant. As the water operators, they are required to do extensive testing, varying from daily, weekly, monthly, bi-annually and annually. If there are any issues with any of the testing, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) fines the town and can possibly jail the operators. In the past 14 years there has not been even one instance where the treatment plant has received disciplinary action from ADEQ or other surveying authorities.
Deithorn and Urias both love their work and living in Patagonia. Urias said, “I am here for the simple life, to look around and walk in the beautiful nature.” Deithorn moved to Patagonia from Pittsburgh 30 years ago and does metal work on the side. Between the two of them they do all the administrative tasks, along with water testing. They both know the critical role they play in the health and welfare of the community, and are always on-call.
Though Deithorn said “that other town employees are familiar with the plant and we are not shy to ask for help when we need it,” both agreed that they could use the support of another full-time staff person, especially with the administrative tasks. The Town Manager, Teel, also said that they are looking to add staff for the treatment plant and that he is trying to secure funding for this as well.