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Chino Valley staff outline $9.2M reclamation upgrade and $10.2M Old Home Manor water project; ADEQ to fund Bright Star PFAS work
Summary
Town staff and consultants updated the council on proposed water projects: roughly $9.2 million in water reclamation facility modifications, a $10.2 million new production facility at Old Home Manor, and ADEQ-funded PFAS remediation at Bright Star. Staff recommended pursuing WIFA 60/40 loan‑grant funding and returning with debt authorization.
Town staff and outside consultants presented a multi‑part update on Sept. 24 about wastewater and drinking‑water projects that town leaders say are needed to improve reliability, meet water‑quality concerns and add production capacity.
Staff described an updated scope of modifications to the Town’s water reclamation facility (WRF) that has grown since an earlier assessment. Taylor Pierce of PACE Engineering said a 30% design estimate reflects additional site, electrical and structural work; he said the revised WRF package now totals about $9.2 million, up from earlier estimates, largely because of extra grading, drainage and structural work to address clay soils and operational needs.
Council heard that the town also needs a second water production facility to reduce the utility’s operational risk. Corolla Engineering had estimated a conceptual Old Home Manor facility with storage and booster improvements at about $10.2 million. Staff said both projects are candidates for Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA) funding with an anticipated 60% loan / 40% grant mix, and that the town’s current multi‑year water rate plan can support the additional debt without changing rates.
Dan Jackson, the town’s rate consultant, told council the rate plan adopted last year should cover the new debt, and that typical customers would see roughly $2–$3 per month in increases over the next two years as the plan phases in previously authorized adjustments. Jackson said the rate study assumed about $12 million of new debt over five years; the new projects fit inside that projection and therefore do not require a rate change at this time.
On PFAS (per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances), staff said tests show the Bright Star well exceeded the EPA’s recently finalized maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PFOA (4 parts per trillion). Bright Star’s PFOA measured about 8.94 ppt; Chino Meadows 2 also tested nearly double the MCL, while the Country West wells were below the MCL but detected smaller levels. Town staff said the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) will cover pilot testing, engineering and final remedy construction for Bright Star’s PFAS treatment, and that those costs are not expected to be borne by the town.
Staff recommended pursuing both the $9.2 million reclamation package and the $10.2 million Old Home Manor production project using the WIFA loan‑grant mix, and said the town’s finance director will bring a debt‑authorization item to council in October to begin the WIFA process. Staff also proposed a $25,000 wellhead protection study that could be added to an ongoing groundwater modeling contract for substantially lower cost than a standalone study.
Council did not take a final vote on project approvals at the meeting; staff sought direction to proceed with funding applications and to return with required debt authorization and construction‑phase approvals.
