A new $800 million water treatment plant is being built in Salt Lake City and is expected to be completed in 2025.
The necessity of a new plant comes from the fact that the already-existing facility is aging and isn’t capable of handling new regulations for federal water treatment.
Laura Briefer, director of Salt Lake City Public Utilities, says that now is the time to replace the city’s aging water infrastructure by replacing the facility, which is over half a century old. Briefer says that the new power plant will improve odor control by no longer air-drying bio-solids.
In addition, SLC Mayor Erin Mendenhall believes that the new plant will help accommodate population growth in the state’s capital city.
The current plant already treats about 35 million gallons of water a day with the water ultimately ending up in the Great Salt Lake. Currently, city officials are looking at ways to make sure that this water donation is permanent and that it’s not being diverted for population growth.