Santa Paula Water Recycling Facility Completed Ahead of Schedule and Already Creating Savings

SANTA PAULA, Calif., Dec. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Santa Paula Water Recycling Facility is once again exceeding expectations – the facility's power consumption costs for the first five months of operation are more than 35 percent lower than expected. Initially anticipated to create a 15 percent savings as a result of PERC Water Corporation's investment in energy saving technology, the facility began full compliant operation seven months ahead of the state's mandated December 15, 2010 deadline and has used more than 35 percent less power than originally expected.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101215/LA18123)

John Quinn, the City of Santa Paula's Finance and Public Works Director, said, "In this challenging economic environment, California cities are eagerly seeking cost saving opportunities. The City of Santa Paula is enthusiastic about our new water recycling facility's reduced power costs as it means savings for our citizens over the long term."

As a result of the energy saving measures employed at the Santa Paula facility, PERC Water was awarded the 2009 Sustainability and Resource Protection Award by the Environmental Business Journal and a grant through Southern California Edison's "Savings by Design" program to help fund the energy saving technology.

"It is imperative that infrastructure become more sustainable and fiscally responsible," said Brian Cullen, President of PERC Water. "The technology available in today's market raises the standard for efficiency and the Santa Paula facility demonstrates that investing in these energy saving technologies results in savings to the ratepayers."

The 4.2 million gallon per day facility utilizes the most advance treatment technology and was described as "world-class" by Dr. Shane Trussell, a leading expert in membrane bioreactors and PERC Water's lead advisor for the facility's process design. Dr. Trussell said, "As a result of the team's equipment selection and robust design features, it is one of the most energy-efficient and cost-effective Membrane Bioreactor installations in the world."

The majority of the treatment process takes place in tanks beneath the professional operation buildings, making the facility virtually odorless and noiseless with no negative impact on the surrounding community. As a result of this innovative design, the entire facility sits on less than two acres of land. A cascading waterfall and duck pond in the front of the facility is used as storm water runoff storage and future plans for the facility include solar power integration for even more power consumption savings. The water produced by the facility is higher quality than the state's stringent quality requirements and is available for reuse within the community.

The facility can also be accessed and controlled wirelessly from anywhere in the world on an iPad, iPhone or Smart phone through Central PERC™, a web application where all the current and historical data necessary to operate and manage water and wastewater infrastructure is centrally hosted and integrated within one platform.

The City of Santa Paula was mandated by the state to replace its 70-year old facility because it had reached the end of its useful life and accrued more than $8 million dollars in compliance-related fines. In May 2008, it awarded Santa Paula Water LLC, a partnership of PERC Water and Alinda Capital Partners, the Design-Build-Operate-Finance contract. PERC Water designed and built the facility and is now operating the facility until 2040.

Phil Dyk, Vice President of Santa Paula Water LLC and a partner at Alinda Capital, said, "The Santa Paula Water project is the first water recycling facility to use California Code Section 5956 to allow for private investment in essential municipal infrastructure. Alinda is extremely proud to be a part of this groundbreaking project and to be serving the City of Santa Paula, and we congratulate our partner PERC Water for designing, building and operating a state-of-the-art facility that entered service seven months ahead of schedule. We look forward to a long-term relationship with the community as we continue to provide an essential service to all Santa Paulans."

PERC Water and Alinda's innovative deal with the City was recognized by Global Water Intelligence and they were awarded the Global Water Awards' 2009 "Water Deal of the Year" Award of Distinction.

To learn more about this project and watch the case study video, visit www.percwater.com.

PERC Water Corporation is a water recycling company that designs, builds, operates and manages water recycling facilities throughout the United States. They have designed more than 55 facilities – 20 of which they have designed, built and operated. The company guarantees water of the highest quality and assumes the risks associated with water recycling. PERC Water is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California. www.percwater.com.

Alinda Capital Partners LLC is the world's largest independent infrastructure firm, with over $7 billion in equity commitments to infrastructure investments. Alinda's infrastructure companies serve over 125 million customers annually in more than 250 cities. The companies operate in 18 states in the United States as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy, and employ more than 15,000 people. Alinda's investors are predominantly pension funds for public sector and private sector workers. These institutions seek steady investments over the long term, matching their pension liabilities and include some of the largest institutional investors in the world. www.alinda.com

SOURCE PERC Water Corporation