'The Big Pour' lays foundation for new water treatment plant in Saint Helena
SAINT HELENA – Officials in Saint Helena celebrated what they called "The Big Pour", but it had nothing to do with wine. It involved dozens of cement trucks laying the foundation for a new water treatment plant in the Wine Country community.
More than 60 cement trucks were lined up along Highway 29, pouring 520 cubic yards of concrete into the site for nearly 12 hours.
The project, which was expected to last around 18 hours, ended ahead of schedule.
For the community in Napa County, it was good news for the long-awaited upgrade to the city's waste water treatment plant.
"Enormous benefit to the community is the idea that we are utilizing the resource of water as efficiently and effectively as possible. Because those who are in this community understand how precious water is," said Joe Leach of the city's Public Works.
The goal of the plant is to reclaim and reuse waste water for landscaping, crop cultivation and other uses that put a serious drain on the water supply.
"Really means we're treating our wastewater at higher level, so it's more environmentally conscious," Leach told KPIX. "In the end we will produce reclaimed water that can be used for beneficial reuse. For irrigation, landscaping, potentially for vineyard or winemaking processing, so we're pretty excited about that."
This summer, the city will come up with a plan to figure out who will benefit from this recycled and reclaimed water the most.
"If there's a way that we can utilize the resource of water, treat it to a level of beneficial reuse, the community wins, by and large," Leach said.
Officials said it would take about a month for the cement to fully cure. The project is expected to be fully complete next April.
