Page 20 - NSAA 2017 Fall Journal

Within the world of reclaimed water, there are often It took a federal appeals court to approve Snowbowl’s
three levels of cleanliness for various uses. The primary treat- decision to expand their resort and transition to 100 percent
ment level only removes solids and is then either discharged reclaimed water for snowmaking. The wastewater comes
into the environment or sent for secondary treatment. from the nearby City of Flagstaff, where 1.5 million gallons
Secondary treatment then removes dissolved and suspended of water is pumped 15 miles from their wastewater treat-
biological matter before being discharged, sent for tertiary ment plant to the mountain resort each day during the ski
treatment, or used for non-potable uses such as snowmaking. season. While the water is not considered potable for human
Finally, tertiary treatment removes nutrients and then can be consumption, it has been treated to a standard deemed safe
used for both non-potable and potable uses. 3 by the Arizona Department of the Environment, which tests
Each level of treatment increases the cost of the water the snow periodically. 6
supply. This is why using reclaimed water of the secondary “Snowbowl is located on an inactive volcano with no
treatment level for snowmaking can be more economical water source nearby,” said JR Murray, the resort’s general
as it requires less to prepare it for use than other treated manager. “For the ski area to survive we needed a reliable
potable water sources. (See figure 1 diagram of the reclaimed water source that the City of Flagstaff’s reclaimed water
water cycle, courtesy of the EPA 2012 Guidelines for provided. Our water source is a known entity, whereas many
4
Water Reuse. ) streams, rivers, and lakes are not tested. Now, after five years
of snowmaking, Snowbowl is not only sustainable economi-
Three Resorts Leading the Way cally but setting records each year.”
5
Clocking in at fourth driest state in the US, Arizona is In 2015 Soda Springs became the first resort in
already sensitive to increasing drought conditions from a California to use 100 percent reclaimed water for snow-
shifting climate. It should come as no surprise, then, that making, after the Donner Summit Public Utility District
an Arizona ski resort pioneered using reclaimed water as a (DSPUD) completed a $24-million upgrade to a UV
drought-proof water supply for snowmaking back in 2012. filtration system that produces high-grade tertiary water
Amid environmental skepticism and cultural complications that meets the California Code of Regulations for outdoor
with local Native American tribes (who claimed wastewater commercial use. 7
snow is a desecration of the land), Arizona Snowbowl was The project came on the heels of a four-year California
the first resort in the United States to provide 100 percent of drought, where lack of natural snowfall and curtailments
their snowmaking needs with reclaimed water. on water diversion were drastically impacting Soda Springs’

fig. 1 Reclaimed Water Cycle
Treatment technologies are available to achieve any
desired level of water quality.

Advanced
Treatment

Water Quality Tertiary
Treatment

Secondary
Treatment

Arizona Snowbowl’s 10-million gallon pond and primary
* Level of treatment depends on the reuse application.
pumphouse. COURTESY ARIZONA SNOWBOWL

18 | NSAA JOURNAL | FALL 2017