Sterling wastewater plant gets major upgrade to meet regulations

A major rebuild is underway at Sterling’s wastewater treatment plant outside city limits along the South Platte River, where the city treats all of its wastewater. The upgrade is aimed at keeping the system reliable, meeting state and federal regulations, and avoiding bigger problems for households and businesses that depend on the sewer system every day.

Sterling says the work is focused on critical treatment equipment, not cosmetic improvements. An aerial view of the site shows new concrete treatment basins, equipment buildings and a clarifier structure already rising at the facility, underscoring how far along the project has moved. Because the plant handles every gallon of Sterling’s wastewater, the city is treating the job as one of its most important infrastructure projects, with direct consequences for service, long-term utility costs and compliance.

The financing structure matters as much as the construction itself. Sterling says the project is being financed in part through Colorado’s State Revolving Fund program, which provides low-interest loans for essential water and wastewater infrastructure. That approach is designed to help modernize a costly system without putting the full burden on local ratepayers all at once. The city’s Waste Water Division says its mission is to provide an effective and efficient means of treating wastewater that meets or exceeds all state and federal water-quality standards for discharge to state waters.

The city has also laid out the project through a formal process. Sterling’s website links residents to a public-hearing notice, an engineering report, an environmental assessment and a project-needs assessment for the wastewater system improvements. City engineering staff handle design, contracting and oversight of major construction projects, including sewer work, giving the upgrade the hallmarks of a long-planned capital project rather than an emergency repair.

The current work follows years of pressure over how to pay for needed upgrades. In 2018, a bond issue for wastewater treatment plant improvements failed. A 2019 editorial warned that rejecting the bond would drive monthly utility bills up immediately and keep them higher for about 30 years. In July 2022, Sterling adopted a resolution asking voters to authorize up to $29 million in debt for wastewater-system improvements, and a 2022 item said cost overruns were looming over the project. For Sterling, incorporated in 1884 and serving as the Logan County seat, the plant upgrade is a high-stakes bet on fixing the system now so it can keep working safely and reliably for years to come.