I See Nothing, I Hear Nothing!: Minimal Impact Design and Construction of the City of Blaine's Lighthouse Point Water Reclamation Facility

The City of Blaine's wastewater treatment facility was out of capacity. However, the existing plant was located on culturally sensitive land, so the City decided to build a new facility. Because the new plant was to be located in a City park, therefore, small-footprint, low aesthetic impact treatment technology was required. The City also wanted sustainable design concepts implemented into the facility design. Using public stakeholder meetings and a close collaboration between the City and the design team lead by Brown and Caldwell, the Lighthouse Point Water Reclamation Facility was designed, built, and has been operating since July, 2010. The new facility incorporates membrane bioreactor technology for treatment and was architecturally designed to blend in with the surrounding environment. Additionally, the plant incorporates odor and noise mitigation technology to minimize impacts to park patrons, energy-saving devices to minimize power consumption, and produces reclaimed water for irrigation use around the plant.