Reclaimed water could deliver major savings at Millennium High 

By Stacy Mantle
Mail

Agua Fria Union High School District could eventually irrigate Millennium High School’s athletic fields with lower-cost reclaimed water under an updated easement approved by the governing board.

The Aug. 12 action allows Liberty Utilities to adjust the planned route of a reclaimed-water line crossing the northern end of the Millennium campus.

Liberty is expanding its ability to deliver treated wastewater, also called effluent or reclaimed water, to customers in the area.

The line is expected to run west to east across the northern portion of the campus, with a booster pump in the northwest corner.

The board previously approved an easement for the project. Once construction began, crews discovered an existing irrigation line in the proposed route. The updated easement allows Liberty to shift its line approximately 10 feet to avoid damaging the district’s irrigation system.

The project is expected to serve large water users near Millennium.

Millennium could also connect to the line and use the reclaimed water for its fields. The district is not required to participate, but officials said the water would be available at a significantly lower rate than its current irrigation supply.

“If we choose to tap into this water, which we’re not forced to do, but we’re allowed to do, we will be provided water at a greatly reduced rate,” Deputy Superintendent of Operations Tom Huffman said.

The district will not incur costs from granting the updated easement, according to the meeting agenda.

Huffman described the project as a “win-win” because it expands the use of reclaimed water while potentially reducing the district’s irrigation expenses.

The board approved the updated easement as part of its consent agenda.

Editor’s note:   A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Stacy Mantle
Education Solutions Reporter

smantle@iniusa.org

Meet Stacy
Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.

Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.

Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!

Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.

Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.