Faced with borrowing $62 million for a new wastewater treatment plant, the city of Prineville, Oregon, wanted an alternative.
Community leaders found it in the $7.7 million Crooked River Wetland Complex, which now receives a large share of the effluent from the city’s 2.31 mgd (design) facultative lagoon treatment plant.
After several grants, the city’s share of the wetlands’ cost was $4.75 million. That means the city saved $57.25 million over the cost of the mechanical treatment plant an engineering firm had recommended in a facility master plan. The benefits are significant: reliable treatment and affordable rates that help make the city
