The city of El Dorado received national attention for the new Wetlands and Water Reclamation Facility.

The plant won the National Public Works Project of the Year Award. This will be presented Aug. 18 in New Orleans.

“I think it’s something we can be very proud of,” said Herb Llewellyn, city manager.
The city also earned the state award for Best Environmental Design in the state for their wastewater treatment plan and wetlands.

This is the first wastewater treatment plant in Kansas to use the wetlands constructed specifically to clean and control output while improving the environment.

“We’re very proud of the facility,” said Kurt Bookout, public utilities director. “It’s doing great.”

The wetlands are a way to treat wastewater in high-flow conditions, such as when there are four inches or more of rain.

“It’s big enough to handle those wet weather events,” he said.

The new facility also lets them do a lot more treatment than in the old plant and treat wastewater more thoroughly.

“Building the wetlands saved nearly $3 million and increased plant capacity to meet the growth of El Dorado throughout 2028,” said Kevin Rood, P.E., lead project designer for Professional Engineering Consultants, P.A.

A pilot wetlands was constructed at the original facility to test theories.

“We compiled a tremendous amount of data from the pilot wetlands over the course of several seasonal scenarios,” Bookout said. “I was confident we could manage a wetlands, but I was also surprised there were so many intricacies. Building the pilot wetlands really helped us understand those challenges.”

The wetlands help meet regulations for output quality by naturally polishing the water with a variety of natural plants chosen for that purpose, including native reeds, cattails and bullrush.

The site also includes a pond between the river and the treatment plant. The pond oxygenates the water and gives it a final polishing before it flows into the river. It also serves as home to schools of fathead minnows, amphibians and other aquatic wildlife. An island in the middle provides respite for waterfowl and shorebirds.

There also are plans for walking paths around the site and near the Walnut River through future plans of the bike path.

The facility serves approximately 15,000 people in El Dorado and Butler County.
In addition to the wetlands, other significant improvements were made to meet the needs of the community, including:

• increased capacity to now almost 30 million gallons for storage and up to 12 million gallons per day for flow.

• new headworks building which houses fine screens and grit removal.

• new biological treatment structures, including mixers, aeration, clarifiers, pumps and instruments.

• new solids handling capacity, including aerobic digestion, centrifuge dewatering and land application.

• a completely automated process including automated backup power.

“Here in El Dorado we have a cutting edge facility that benefits our community and our environment,” Bookout said.