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…The City of Sterling has been providing water to their community since the late 1800’s and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has required water treatment since the mid 1900’s. Over time, as regulations progressed, the treatment methods have evolved to comply with the changes in regulations. The current treatment system (9.6 million gallon per day, Reverse Osmosis Nano Membrane Treatment Facility) has been fully operational since October of 2013.
…Sterling’s Drinking Water Treatment Facility product is the water provided to the community. Every drop comes directly from them! Because of this, the Sterling Drinking Water Treatment Facility takes great pride in insuring the delivery of the highest quality product possible. To make this happen, the treatment staff needs to be specialized in a diverse variety of applications. For example: pumps/motors, inline analyzers, chemical feed systems, laboratory analysis, data collection/reporting, computerized SCADA software, equipment operation, and equipment maintenance.
…The business, as it is today, started as Sterling’s Water Treatment System project in 2008, when CDPHE issued an enforcement order to comply with the federal drinking water standards for uranium. Details of the enforcement order required the City of Sterling to construct a new treatment facility, and the Enforcement Order could not be resolved until completion of this project in November of 2013.
…Changes in Drinking Water Standards have been the driving force behind what has shaped the business into what it is today. It is because of these changes, both historic and foreseeable future changes, that RO (Reverse Osmosis) technology was selected as the primary function of the current treatment process. RO technology gives the ability to remove all contaminants, effectively ensuring the ability to comply with all (current and future) drinking water regulations. The City of Sterling has remained compliant with all water quality standards since October of 2013.
…Today, there are a handful of public RO drinking water facilities in Colorado. Sterling’s facility is one of only two, utilizing deep injection wells for brine disposal. By disposing of the brine, the Sterling facility is also disposing of the unwanted contaminants stripped from the drinking water, and effectively removing them from the ecosystem.
…This disposal process has been credited by Rocky Mountain Solutions, for removing an estimated 6.5 million pounds of total dissolved solids annually, from the South Platte Aquifer.
In April of 2015, Sterling’s Water Treatment System project received the “National Recognition Award” from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Engineering Excellence Awards competition.
…Other accomplishments: In recent years, the Sterling facility’s process has been featured in several magazine articles and has also been featured in lecture, at National Membrane Conferences in Florida and New Mexico. Publications: Perspectives magazine (summer 2015), the Colorado Public Works Journal (winter 2015), and featured as the cover article in the August 2016 issue of Treatment Plant Operator (TPO) magazine.
…Due to the wide variety of treatment applications to specialize in, CDPHE regulates how treatment facilities designate duties to staff. This is done by layering different levels of certification, achieved through years of experience and a standardized testing process. The staff at Sterling’s Treatment Facility proudly possesses the highest level of certification licensing available.
…For questions please contact: David Beck – (970) 522-2755 – beck@sterlingcolo.com or George Good – (970) 522- 9700 – good@sterlingcolo.com.
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