The city celebrated the opening of a new facility this spring that makes Valparaiso even friendlier to the environment. The construction of the CSO Disinfection Facility marks the final stage of a three-step plan to expand wet weather capacity of the city’s wastewater treatment services.
The Disinfection Facility eliminates the discharge of untreated sewage that could be caused by a wet weather event. In the past, communities would be forced to make a difficult decision: Release untreated waste from a combined sewage overflow (CSO) into waterways or allow the overflow to back up into neighborhood basements. “Valparaiso has been a leader in its efforts to protect the environment by finding and building ways to reduce our overflows,” said Steve Poulos, Assistant Director for Valparaiso City Utilities. “In recent years, the city has been able to reduce its CSO volumes by 90 percent and its events by 80 percent through enhancements at our plant and projects such as the Valparaiso Street sewer separation,” he said.
“This new facility means that on those rare occasions that remain—when we absolutely must protect neighboring homes by releasing a CSO, that overflow can be disinfected before it reaches the waterway,” said Poulos. "The combined sewer disinfection facility has the ability to treat a volume of 100 million gallons per day – enough to handle a rain of up to two inches per hour. This adds up to a better, healthier and greener Valparaiso.”