Water Reclamation Process
Lighthouse Point Water Reclamation Facility is the largest single municipal project in the city's history. The treatment plant uses an advanced activated sludge treatment followed by an advanced filtration treatment system manufactured by GE/Zenon that can purify as much as 3.1 million gallons of sewage a day. It produces Class 'A' reclaimed water, suitable for public contact such as irrigation of parks and golf courses.
The plant typically purifies a little over a 500,000 gallons of domestic sewage a day, well below our design capability of 3.1 million gallons. This filtration process is based on the same basic principle as a reverse osmosis system, but uses a nominal pore size of .04 microns and is classified as an ultrafiltration process. The membrane filters act as a physical barrier to bacteria and most viruses, stopping them from leaving the plant.
About the Staff
The facility is staffed 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. The staff includes 3 full-time certified operators and 1 part-time certified operator. Recently the city has partnered with Bellingham Technical College offering intern training in our process.