The City of San Luis Obispo is making some major eco-friendly upgrades to its Water Resource Recovery Facility.
Officials broke ground Wednesday on the $111 million "SLO Water Plus" project.
The project will treat wastewater by filtering it through a membrane with tiny pore openings and disinfecting it with ultraviolet light.
The upgrades are designed to improve overall operations, reduce the need for chemicals in the water treatment process, optimize energy use, and reduce odor and noise impacts to neighbors. City officials say it will also enhance water quality in San Luis Obispo Creek.
"The reason we are doing it is because when you look at upgrading this facility for regulatory reasons, we felt like if we utilized state of the art technology that we could not only meet those requirements and meet what we are going to for the city, but also to provide greater resilience for water supply," said David Hix, San Luis Obispo Utilities Department Deputy Director.
The improvements are expected to last at least 30 years.
