Underground Construction - June 2022 - 12

NEWSLINE LATEST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
the WIFIA loan. Construction is expected to be
completed in 2027. The EPA expects 2,880 local
jobs will be created by the project.
El Paso Water completes
Rio Grande sewage clean-up
El Paso Water and its partners have completed
100 percent of the riverbed clean-up eff ort
following the Frontera Wastewater Emergency.
Work remains to continue the characterization
and removal of soils from the banks of the river.
" As agreed upon with our partners, when the
water is released from Elephant Butte, the river
will be ready, " said Gilbert Trejo, Interim Chief
Operations Offi cer for Production and Treatment.
Approximately six to 12 inches of impacted soil
has been removed from portions of the riverbed.
The piles are stockpiled on the riverbank to dry
out so they can be tested and transported for
proper disposal. This work will continue for weeks
as thousands of truck loads remove the piles.
Water quality sampling shows that river fl ows
have returned to pre-discharge conditions.
The clean-up eff orts have required a large
collaboration with many partners.
EPWater proactively started remediation work
at the Frontera Force Mains in 2020. Beginning
on Aug. 13, 2021, when the remediation work
that began in 2020 was 60% complete, the
utility experienced multiple breaks to the
Frontera Force Mains. Additional breaks forced
EPWater to make the diffi cult decision to divert
wastewater to the Rio Grande. The utility
reported the initial wastewater emergency to the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
and has maintained regular contact with the
agency throughout the process.
Arizona nuclear plant seeking
alternative source of water
The largest nuclear power plant in the U.S. is
still looking for an alternative water source after
scuttling plans to pump brackish groundwater
west of Phoenix it fi rst pursued in 2019.
The Palo Verde Generating Station is the only
nuclear plant in the world not adjacent to a large
body of water to cool the plant. Instead, it uses
reclaimed water piped more than 35 miles (56
kilometers) across the desert.
That water is getting more expensive, and
to keep the plant economical, Arizona Public
Service Co. is exploring ways to use it wiser,
including a test project with Sandia National
Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this
summer, the Arizona Republic reported.
The plant uses about 65 million gallons of
treated wastewater every day - more than 23
billion gallons a year - to generate electricity.
The contract with cities to sell the plant the
treated wastewater runs through 2050 and gets
more expensive after 2025.
The water from the 91st Avenue Wastewater
Treatment Plant cost $53 an acre-foot in 2010.
It will cost $300 an acre-foot in 2025. Starting
in 2026, water rates will be set using a tiered
formula, rising with water use.
Another option APS is reviewing is adding
another water-treatment facility to the
nuclear plant.
12 JUNE 2022 | UCONonline.com
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Underground Construction - June 2022

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