ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — More than $15 million has been spent on new odor control technology at a sewage treatment plant that serves New Mexico’s most populated area.
Officials with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority announced this week that the new system brings the decades-old plant into the 21st Century. The project is part of a 10-year, $250 million plant overhaul that’s now more than halfway complete.
The odor control system includes four low-profile aluminum covers. Each dome is about 160 feet (49 meters) in diameter and designed to contain odor-causing compounds emanating from the plant’s clarifier tanks. The other components include ventilation and filtration systems that neutralize odors using naturally occurring microorganisms.
The covers were assembled on-site and took about two hours each to be lifted into place. Construction of the new system began in November 2018, with the first dome cover being put in service in January 2019.
