Bella Terra Water Quality Permit

The ADEQ has issued a water quality permit for the proposed Bella Terra wastewater treatment plant near Sedona in Yavapai County.

In 2006 the Yavapai Co. Board of Supervisors approved Bella Terra on Oak Creek as a new subdivision consisting of 106 lots on 53.5 acres bordering Oak Creek. ADEQ was not involved in the county's zoning decision.

The permit, known as an Aquifer Protection Permit (APP), regulates the operation of the wastewater treatment plant currently planned for the Bella Terra on Oak Creek development in Sedona. Based on the number of lots & occupancy figures at the subdivision, the treatment plant will generate less than 25,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day at max capacity.

"This is the toughest water quality permit ever issued for a facility of this size," Director Owens said. "Under this permit, Oak Creek & precious groundwater resources in the Sedona area will be protected to the highest level possible."

Effluent from the plant will be disposed into 3 separate disposal fields using a subsurface irrigation system, & is required to meet Class A+ Reclaimed Water Quality Standards, the highest water quality standard. No effluent disposal is allowed in Oak Creek or Carroll Canyon Wash. To further protect Oak Creek & Carroll Canyon Wash from any impacts, a required monitoring well, known as a sentinel well, will provide an "early warning system" before any impacts to Oak Creek or Carroll Canyon Wash can occur. ADEQ is also requiring the developer to demonstrate increased financial capability in the amount of $600,000 to cover construction, operation, closure & proper post-closure care of the wastewater treatment plant.

Treatment at the plant includes equalization to distribute the flow for optimal treatment, denitrification, secondary clarification & tertiary filtration. In addition, the permit requires ultraviolet disinfection instead of disinfection by chlorine to prevent production of by-products capable of impacting groundwater or Oak Creek & to eliminate any possibility of exposure to chlorine gas by community members.

Owens noted that if the wastewater treatment plant were not built, Bella Terra residents would need to install septic systems, which would expose the groundwater & wash to the high risk of contamination. The wastewater treatment plant will produce 1-3rd of the total nitrogen & less than 1-millionth of the bacteria, including E. Coli, that would be produced by those septic systems, because, unlike the treatment plant, septic tanks do not treat wastewater or otherwise remove contaminants from wastewater.