Council approves lease for experimental wastewater treatment facility

June 26, 2013

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — UCSC students will design, build and run the project, which will test various processes for purifying sewer water into drinking water.

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — The Water Resource Center in Watsonville, Calif. will host an experimental wastewater treatment facility from WaterLab to be run by UC Santa Cruz, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Leasing for the experiment was approved unanimously by the City Council.

UCSC students will design, build and run the project, which will test various processes for purifying sewer water into drinking water and other experiments, stated the article.

"We'd like the students to be experts in advanced water treatment, so that's why we're building this facility," said Brent Haddad, professor of environmental studies and director of WaterLab. "This facility will be capable of producing drinkable water, although there's no intention of anyone drinking it."

After WaterLab has conducted its tests the water will be purified by the city’s water treatment plant, noted the article.

Haddad said the project will help prepare students for careers in water resources, an expertise he said will be in demand.

Read the entire article here.