A San Patricio County water reuse project has won first place honors in a statewide American Water Works Association competition.

         The 2000 Water Conservation and Reuse Award for small utilities was presented to the San Patricio Municipal Water District (SPMWD) during ceremonies April 5 in Houston.

         Judges in the awards competition noted that entries represented a great diversity of innovation and ideas with proven results.

         The winning project delivers reclaimed treated wastewater and sewage sludge from Aransas Pass to Reynolds Metals property.  It was put into service last month after several years of research and planning.

         The 700,000 gallons a day in reclaimed wastewater is used for dust control and to maintain and encourage plant growth on 450 acres of  old bauxite tailings.

         The $3 million project included construction of a new pump station and an 8.8-mile pipeline.  It was a cooperative venture involving the San Patricio water district, the City of Aransas Pass, Reynolds Metals and the Sherwin Alumina Co.

         Jim Naismith, SPMWD general manager and district engineer, said the Aransas Pass-Reynolds project allows the same water to be recycled and used three times – for municipal purposes, for irrigation and for manufacturing.  While some of the water will be consumed in maintaining vegetative cover, most will be “polished” as it moved through the vegetation and will then be used by Sherwin Alumina in their manufacturing process.      
     
         Naismith said the project effectively expands the regional water supply because the recycled water will take the place of Nueces River water that has been used for dust control, irrigation and manufacturing.

         The project also addresses the issue of nutrient enrichment of Redfish Bay where water quality is expected to improve because only a small portion of the effluent from the Aransas Pass treatment plant will be discharged to the bay in the future.

         A demonstration project to prove that habitat could be created on the bauxite tailings has been underway for almost a decade.  Texas A&M University at Kingsville has investigated plant species, soil amendments and planting practices.  Completely barren and sterile “red mud” areas have been converted to lush growth that has attracted a variety of local wildlife.  The area is expected to function as a wildlife sanctuary in the future.

         The water conservation project was built by the San Patricio water district with a loan from Texas Water Development Board which joined the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission in strongly endorsing the project.  Reynolds previously received special recognition from the Sierra Club for the project.

         The San Patricio water district provides water to Odem, Taft, Portland, Gregory, Ingleside, Aransas Pass, Naval Station Ingleside, Port Aransas, Rockport, Fulton and two rural water systems.  It also serves industries including Sherwin Alumina, Reynolds Metals, Occidental Chemical, OxyMar, DuPont, Air Liquide, Gregory Power Partners and Ingleside Cogeneration LP. 

         The district’s customers account for approximately 20% of the total demand for water from the regional water supply system managed by the City of Corpus Christi.  Much of the region’s growth is taking place in the SPMWD’s service area.  To meet this need the district has completed more than $30 million in system expansion projects in the past three years.