Water & Wastewater Operations – Arizona Department of Corrections

Since July 2006, GHD Environmental Services Inc. (GHDESI) has been responsible for operating and maintaining advanced water and wastewater facilities for the Arizona Department of Corrections at Lewis, Yuma, and Winslow-Apache Prison Complexes.   

We are directly responsible for all activities, performance, and regulatory compliance. Our services include 7 days per week on-site operation of all facilities and systems, water and wastewater sampling and analyses, maintenance and repair of equipment, and management of biosolids, electrical, and other subcontractors. Working closely with prison facilities staff, we also provide support to the prisons such as operations and maintenance planning and budgeting, engineering support, oversight of upgrades and modifications, and utilization of inmates in operation and maintenance of the facilities.

Lewis Prison Complex
The Lewis complex contains more than 5000 inmates plus prison staff. The water treatment facility uses an Electro-Dialysis Reversal (EDR) membrane process to treat up to 1.5 mgd of brackish groundwater. Brine is transferred to 4 acres of lined evaporation ponds. GHDESI was instrumental in working with the EDR manufacturer in multiple upgrades to the existing plant.  Water recovery increased from 50 to 85% and O&M costs were reduced by more than $300,000 per year. This facility is now a pilot test site for GE EDR system enhancement being applied throughout the world.

The 600,000 gpd wastewater treatment facility is a tertiary biological nutrient removal process with filtration and UV disinfection.    The reclaimed water is used for groundwater recharge and on-site irrigation. Upon taking over operation of this facility, GHDESI was able to eliminate a regulatory consent order through improved operations and equipment improvements that also reduced the operating and maintenance costs by more than $60,000.

Yuma Prison Complex
The Yuma prison houses nearly 5,000 inmates. GHDESI began operation of the new water and wastewater facilities in 2010.   The water treatment plant is a 1.5 mgd reverse osmosis membrane facility treating brackish groundwater. The wastewater treatment plant utilizes a ‘Biolac’ biological nitrogen removal process with a capacity of about 1.2 mgd. The high quality treated effluent is combined with brine waste from the water treatment plant and used for groundwater recharge and landscape irrigation within the prison.

Winslow-Apache Prison Complex
GHD is providing on-site coverage at Winslow/Apache to meet both regulatory requirements and budget needs. We are responsible for meeting all sampling requirements and for delivering the facility’s quarterly Self-Monitoring Report Form to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.