An effluent reclamation facility with a capacity of handling 400,000 gallons daily has been proposed by The Preserve at Goldfield Ranch.

The reclaimed wastewater would be disposed of through reuse and recharge.

Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) regional council will review the application at its April 23 meeting. Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, both within three miles of the project, oppose the facility.

A MAG sub-committee has recommended approval. The project falls under MAG 208 Water Quality Management Plan.

Don Kile, president of master planned communities for The Ellman Companies, said the review is one in a series of procedures before the residential project receives final approval.

The state Departments of Water Resources and Environmental Quality also will hold hearings and review plans for the water reclamation facility.

Goldfield Preserve Development Co., an affiliate of The Ellman Companies, plans to build 950 residences about five miles northeast of Fountain Hills.

Construction is not anticipated to begin at the earliest until 2010.

The developer would fund the plant’s capital construction cost. The county Board of Supervisors has established an improvement district for ongoing operation and maintenance. User fees will be based on property ownership.

Representatives from Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation have said that the effluent, when recharged into the ground, could harm the nation’s drinking water.

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community opposes the facility because of a potential impact to drinking water; hydrological connection of the aquifer to the Verde River (surface water quality); lower aquifer unit and the community’s groundwater, and the desert nesting bald eagles.    Their concern is that treated wastewater contains pharmaceuticals and other byproducts that could have a detrimental impact on fish that eagles depend on for forage.

Preserve consultants responded that the effluent will meet A-plus water quality standards and regulated under an Aquifer Protection Permit (APP) issued by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

Kile said the idea of treating wastewater and recharging it into the aquifer is standard.

The state Department of Water Resources (ADWR) has told municipalities that they must reach safe yield by 2025.

Safe yield water management is the balance between water pumped out of aquifers and water that “recharges” them, as rain, snowmelt, or treated wastewater. The idea is to ensure long-term sustainability of groundwater resources.

“We’re proud to say at The Preserve, without pressure of any state agency, we’re accomplishing a big leap forward of responsible development of safe year yield” 17 years before the deadline, said Kile.

The developer contends that well tests performed on the site show the aquifer is confined. Additional investigation is ongoing.

The effluent reclamation plant would serve 1,902 acres of the development, including an additional 174 acres of offsite areas between Parcels and B on the west side of State Highway 87.   Development parcels C and D on the east side of the highway will be serviced by septic systems.

The facility has been designed for a population density of 3.2 persons per dwelling and a wastewater generation rate of 100 gallons per capita per day for the residential units.

The proposed location of the facility is toward the western border of Parcel A.