Frequently Asked Questions

Water Reclamation Facility Project

• What will the Water Reclamation Facility look like?

  The facility is being designed to look like a rural barn to fit into the surrounding orchards in the area. The entire operation will be fully enclosed and reside on a 10-acre parcel that has plenty of room for expansion. 

• When will the project begin and how long will it take?

  The project will break ground in January of 2011 and take approximately 18 months to construct.

• Where will the Water Reclamation Facility be located?

  The new system will be located on the north side of Santaquin City along the west side of Center Street in between the railroad tracks and the Strawberry-Highline Canal.

• Who approved this project?

  This project required approvals from various entities throughout the design and funding process. Approvals were granted by funding and design partners (e.g. UDSA, DWQ, DWR, CUP, EPA, etc.) Ultimately, every phase of this project was approved by our elected and appointed officials through the Santaquin City Council, Planning Commission, and Development Review Committee. 

• Why did my bill go up by $20?

  In order to qualify for the funding of this project with the assistance of Federal and State agencies, the average Santaquin City Sewer Rate was required to be $42 per month. This necessitated an increase of $20 per month per connection. 

• Why do we need to do this project?

  Our current sewer lagoons are beyond capacity. They were designed in 1994 to provide capacity through 2012 for a population of approximately 4,500. However, growth over the last 16 years has exceeded those 1994 projections. Today our population is over 8,500 and continues to grow. 

• Will it stink?

  The process is a very clean low odor operation. Santaquin City is taking every precaution to ensure that odors are imperceptible by fully enclosing the process in buildings that have a slight negative pressure. This means that air from the outside will be pulled indoors when doors are opened. In addition, air scrubbers will be installed in the HVAC system. Finally, there will be no storage of bio-solids onsite. All of these steps will ensure the lowest possible odor issue.

• Will new growth pay for any of this project?

  History has proven that growth will come. As such, the revenue that new growth will bring, in the form of impact fees and monthly user rates, will allow the City Council of the future the ability to either pay down the debt early or lower everyone’s monthly user rate.