Sewer plant takes shape on Lakeville Highway

Massive concrete foundations formed during recent sunny weather

June 14, 2006

BY COREY YOUNG ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

Petaluma's flagship public-works project, a $110 million sewer plant on Lakeville Highway, is ramping up construction as memories of soggy winter days fade and the sun comes out to shine.

With eight months of construction gone by, the project is 12 percent complete and more than three months ahead of schedule.

"They were able to get enough of the earthwork done before the rains came, so that's why we're ahead," said Mike Ban, director of water resources and conservation.

Last week Ban and construction manager Ken Sinclair toured the 262-acre project site, where deep ditches have been dug into the bare ground and massive concrete slabs have been poured.

"This is the place to be if there's an earthquake," said Ban, overlooking a newly formed oval made of almost 300 yards of concrete, three feet thick.

The slab will form the base for what's called an oxidation ditch, where Petaluma's sewage will be treated and cleaned for transformation into recycled water for landscaping. Each year, more than two billion gallons of water will be created for irrigation and firefighting when the plant is finished.

Farther back from the highway, between the construction work and the Petaluma River, are acres of wetlands the city will use to "polish" the wastewater at the end of the treatment process. Even with earthmovers and construction workers near by, the site is already home to wildlife.

"The birds still love it out there," project manager Margaret Orr told the City Council last week, showing off photos of an egret dipping its wings in water.

In the next year, the city plans to spend $72 million, the bulk of the construction budget, to continue building the plant. Sewer rates for Petaluma residents will increase each year through 2012 to fund the project.

The original completion date of April 9, 2009, is still the target.

(Contact Corey Young at cyoung@arguscourier.com)