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Heber Valley Sewer FAQ – Summer 2023
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Why does the District use lagoons?
- Wastewater lagoons are the most economical and lowest carbon footprint technology for wastewater treatment and have been for a long time.
- Lagoons allow HVSSD to continue to provide the lowest sewer rates to residents of Midway, Heber and other nearby areas.
- Lagoons are the most tried and proven process for wastewater treatment and have been used for thousands of years.
- Most wastewater systems in Utah use lagoons and wastewater ponds (63%)
- Lagoon infrastructure has the longest life expectancy and the lowest depreciation costs.
- Higher-density cities often don’t have available land to build Lagoons sufficient for their population, leading them to utilize mechanical facilities.
- The HVSSD Board has undergone an extensive planning process for the last two and a half years to update the capital facilities plan, the impact fees, and rates for the ratepayers’ treatment and disposal needs.
Do you monitor air quality?
- Lagoon-based processing facilities are not required by the Utah State Government or the Federal Government to monitor air quality.
- In response to recent public concerns, HVSSD just started using a 4-Gas Detector for short-term monitoring. These monitors test four main gases, Oxygen (O2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) and Methane (CH4).
- The Board is currently working with the Health Department to have permanent gas detectors installed around the plant to provide continuous monitoring.
The Spring 2023 turn-over odor around the facility is worse than normal. Where is it coming from? What is being done about it?
- The Board is considering all options as it investigates and responds to concerns about District-related odor.
- Our staff will respond to odor issues by doing sniff evaluations and testing with a portable 4-Gas Detector to pinpoint the problem. This device is identical to those used by fire and health departments to test for harmful gasses.
- If you smell odor, you can contact us with a specific time/location to aid the investigation.
- In response to industry best practices, the HVSSD Board has already approved an enhanced maintenance program that will include several measures to help address the odor issue. This plan includes a new depreciation schedule to ensure we are investing in updating and replacing our equipment to help ensure the system operates more effectively.
Do the lagoons affect the Provo River?
- According to the Utah State Government, in the Division of Water Quality’s recently released 2023 Heber Valley Watershed Plan, HVSSD is in compliance with Federal, EPA and State designed guidelines and there is no leakage from the lagoons impacting the Provo River.
- The District owns seven wells around the plant site, monitors, and reports water quality in them quarterly, and is in compliance with all water quality standards. In fact, the wells have shown improvement in water quality since 2016.
If HVSSD builds or converts to a mechanical plant will odors stop?
- HVSSD is committed to keeping any odors to a minimum. Yet as long as humans emit odors in the bathroom then both mechanical plant and lagoon odors will sometimes occur. We will continue to implement solutions to minimize odor.
- HVSSD includes both a mechanical plant and a lagoon system to treat wastewater, and the mechanical plant, like any other mechanical wastewater facility, also emits odors.
What would it take to convert HVSSD's system to only a mechanical plant?
- Only using a mechanical plant would be much more costly than our current lagoon system to maintain and to implement. At a minimum, it would cost at least $52 million to convert to a fully mechanical facility resulting in a rate increase of at least $26/month per user which would more than double current rates. It would also be a long and expensive process because such a conversion would require things like:
o EPA & other environmental studieso Engineering design of a new mechanical plant, as well as engineering approvalso Approvals and permits from the State and Environmental Protection Agency o Potentially acquiring new land for the plant and winter storage pondso Construction costs and construction timeo Increased operations and maintenance costs, including additional staff.o A new collection system o Pumping infrastructure projects to connect to a new plant.
- All of these costs would result in dramatically higher monthly rates to HVSSD ratepayers and long-term debt liabilities at the District. Even if a new plant was used, HVSSD would still need to dispose of its treated wastewater and deal with odors.
- HVSSD has explored the option of moving to a mechanical plant in the recent past. However, after looking at the costs and other issues, it was determined that we already have the most effective, lowest cost system for ratepayers. Lagoons are more economical and have the lowest carbon footprint.