Regional Optimization Master Plan (ROMP)
ROMP Highlights and Updates
for ROMP
In July 2010, the Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department received the National Association of Clean Water Agency’s 2010 National Environmental Achievement Award in the Operations and Environmental Performance category for the Regional Optimization Master Plan. The department received this prestigious award at NACWA’s Summer Conference & 40th Anniversary in San Francisco, CA, on Wednesday, July 21, 2010.
Ina Road WRF Capacity Expansion and Effluent Quality Upgrade
The Ina Road expansion project is on track with consultants on board for the three major elements of the project. The project manager is Jacobs Field Services of North America; the project designer is CH2MHill; and construction services are provided by MWH Constructors, Inc. The Board of Supervisors approved a construction contract for the major project elements on July 6, 2010. Design of the major project elements is 100% complete as of August 2010.
With cultural resources work complete (see below), earthwork, gravity belt thickener installation, and construction of the digester complex have started. The County negotiated contracts to lock in prices for steel and concrete in November 2009, with projected cost savings of millions of dollars.
The Ina Road expansion project is projected to be completed late 2013.
Archaeology Project at the Ina Road WRF
Before start of ROMP construction at the Ina Road WRF, Desert Archaeology (working with Pima County Cultural Resources) conducted an extensive archaeology dig on the site to document prehistoric Native American settlements. The archaeological work revealed a network of canals and fields from the San Pedro Period (1250 B.C. – 800 B.C.). The findings document an early sedentary agricultural settlement that includes the oldest known irrigation system in North America. The 60-acre excavation, called Las Capas (The Layers), won an award from Archaeology Magazine as one of the top 10 discoveries of 2009. View a slideshow about Las Capas and information from Desert Archaeology.
Water Reclamation Campus
RWRD is pursuing the most cost-effective option for the 32 MGD Wastewater Reclamation Facility: Design-Build-Operate, with a contractor providing all three elements. The DBO contract was awarded to CH2MHill on December 7, 2010, for $164 million (32% lower than the budget cap of $240 million). The WRF is projected to be operational in September 2014.
Work is underway on a new Central Laboratory Complex, which will gather all laboratory services into one location and provide staff facilities for the Compliance and Regulatory Affairs Office and for training. Earthwork has started on the laboratory site, and archaeological cataloguing has been completed.
Solar Facility
Pima County has constructed a 1-megawatt solar facility at the Water Reclamation Campus. The facility is capable of producing over 55 million Kw/hrs during its expected 30-year life and will provide energy for the new wastewater facility north of the current Roger Road WRF. View News Release.
Plant Interconnect
The plant interconnect connects the Roger Road and Ina Road WRFs and provides flow and capacity management between the two facilities. As of April 2010, all but 300 feet of pipe have been installed (out of 5 miles total). The project is on track and scheduled to be completed in December 2010.
RWRD was among the first water sector agencies in the State of Arizona to receive funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. RWRD received $10 million from the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA), which includes $8 million in low-interest rate loans and an additional $2 million in ARRA principal forgiveness funds (which do not have to be repaid), to help build the plant interconnect. The ARRA and WIFA funding will save Pima County residents nearly $3.4 million in construction costs for the Plant Interconnect Project.
More ROMP Updates
Detailed current information about the ROMP program can be found in the minutes of the Regional Wastewater Management Advisory Committee.
What is the Regional Optimization Master Plan (ROMP)?
ROMP is a master plan to allow the Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department (RWRD) to meet environmental regulatory requirements.
What is RWRD planning?
RWRD is working to meet new environmental requirements mandated by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). ADEQ regulates our activities and the way we convey and treat the community’s sewage. ADEQ has directed us to meet new stringent quality standards for our effluent. These standards are based on mandates set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
What new standards does RWRD have to meet?
ADEQ is mandating that RWRD decrease the amount of nitrogen and ammonia in our effluent.
Why is it important to decrease nitrogen and ammonia levels in effluent?
Although nitrogen is helpful in plant growth, it is harmful to aquatic life. Additionally, effluent that is discharged into the Santa Cruz River can percolate into our groundwater and increase nitrogen and ammonia levels in the aquifer. Although small levels of nitrogen naturally exist in the aquifer, high levels of nitrogen in drinking water can be harmful to children and unborn babies. No local water providers draw from the groundwater near the Roger Road and Ina Road facilities, and the Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department performs regular monitoring of the groundwater in these areas.
What does Pima County intend to do to meet new standards?
With a number of community partners (the City of Tucson, the Town of Oro Valley, and others), RWRD has developed the Regional Optimization Master Plan (ROMP). The ROMP will change how we manage and treat the community’s sewage.
Today, the Roger Road plant has a capacity of 41 million gallons a day (mgd). The Ina Road facility has a capacity of 37.5 mgd. ROMP planners have projected that the metropolitan area will need a capacity of 85 mgd by 2030 (3 mgd will be provided by the Randolph Water Reclamation Facility located at 22nd Street and Alvernon Way.) When the ROMP is completed, the Ina Road facility will be upgraded and expanded to treat 50 mgd. The Roger Road plant will be decommissioned after a new 32 mgd water reclamation facility is built adjacent to the existing plant.
Proposed 32 mgd Water Reclamation Campus (Click here for higher resolution schematic)
Proposed Ina Road 50 mgd Water Reclamation Facility (Click here for higher resolution schematic)
What will the ROMP cost?
Preliminary 2006 estimates were $536 million. Ultimately, the ROMP will cost more when additional needs and requirements are identified and inflation and debt service are factored into project costs.
RWRD will be asking for increases in sewer rates and sewer connection fees. These rates are paid by those of us who receive sewer service and by developers and any others who connect new plumbing fixtures that discharge into the sewer system.
Publications
- Let's Talk Sewage - a brochure about the ROMP program
- Regional Optimization Master Plan Final Report, November 2007
- Regional Optimization Master Plan Powerpoint, December 2009 (1 mb)
- ROMP Interconnect Powerpoint, October 2009 (1 mb)
