City to spend $6 million on regional sewage treatment plant

Hesperia may soon have a sewage treatment plant to call its own.

In conjunction with its fellow members in the Victor Valley Water Reclamation Authority, the city is paying $6 million -- at least -- for a new sub-regional wastewater facility.

"But it's so early in this project, it's a very rough estimate," said city spokeswoman Kelly Malloy.

The goal is to make the city's water supplies stretch further for an ever-growing population.

"One way to [conserve potable water] is to use reclaimed water in landscaping. All the new commercial properties on the west side of the city are dual-piped with the purple pipe."

Purple pipe is used to deliver water that goes through less extensive and less expensive treatment than wastewater goes through when it’s intended for tap water.

"Once this is available, they can use this water for landscaping," said Malloy. "That way we can conserve water for drinking and other purposes."

The plant would be located north of Main Street, west of Interstate 15, west of Mesa Linda and adjacent to the Oro Grande Wash. The VVWRA has just begun getting cost estimates on the project, but ideally construction would begin this summer.

"Right now, our sewage has to go all the way to the VVWRA to be processed," Malloy said. "To divert some of that would allow us to ... decrease the strain on the VVWRA facility. So everyone would benefit."

Beau Yarbrough can be reached at 956-7108 or at beau@hesperiastar.com.