BENEFITING BAKERSFIELD

The recently completed expansion and upgrade of the Bakersfield Wastewater Treatment Plant 3 (Plant 3), in Bakersfield, CA, redefine how a well-planned, well-designed wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) firs into a surrounding community. Along with achieving the basic goal of meeting requirements related to effluent quality and groundwater recharge, the expanded plant provides numerous benefits to the community. Plant 3 is also designed to recover and generate energy using measures that help to reduce the amount of waste sent to area landfills. Finally, the innovative, sustainable design maximized the use of existing facilities and energy-efficient equipment, the latter expected to cut expenses by more than half a million dollars a year. Throughout all phases of the Plant 3 expansion and upgrade project, the project team's goal was to design and construct a sustainable WWTP, one that would consider the "triple bottom line" of the design. A major economic and environmental consideration in designing plant upgrades involves minimizing waste in any form.