2007 Issue

UTAH ENGINEERS COUNCIL JOURNAL 21 50 Years of Clean Water in Utah BILL DAMERY, PG, KIRAN L. BHAYANI, P.E., D.EE . Utah Division of Water Quality I N 1953, UTAH WAS ONE OF THE FIRST STATES IN THE NATION TO PASS A WA- TER POLLUT ION CONTROL ACT THAT established a Water Quality Board respon- sible for protecting water quality and public health. The Board adopted rules setting stan- dards for streams and lakes as well as mini- continued on page 22 Prior to 1964, untreated sewage was discharged into Utah’s lakes and streams. Homes not connected to public sewers used privies or cesspools for waste disposal. In 1949, Utah’s first municipal mechanical treatment plant was built in Nephi City. mum treatment requirements for discharges. At the time, Utah’s population was just over 680,000 and nearly all communities that had sewer collection systems discharged their wastewater without treatment to nearby streams. In addition, industries such as slaughter houses, manufacturers and other industries, discharged their wastewater with no treatment. Utah participated in a nation- wide effort to help communities with the cost of constructing wastewater treatment and collection systems utilizing the Federal Construction Grants Program beginning in 1956. Since the inception of this program Utah communities have received $225 mil- lion in grants that resulted in the construc- tion of over $500 million worth of wastewater facilities. By 1964, Utah had eliminated all community raw sewage discharges into lakes and streams and was one of the first states in the nation to have achieved secondary treat- ment standards. In 1972, Congress enacted the first com- prehensive federal clean water legislation in response to growing public concerns for serious and widespread water pollution. The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law that protects our nations waters including lakes, rivers, groundwater and coastal areas. The two fundamental goals of the Clean Water Act are to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into the nation’s water and to achieve water quality levels that are suitable for recreation, aquatic wildlife, and for indus- trial, agricultural and municipal use. The 1972 Federal Clean Water Act required permits for all industrial and mu- nicipal discharges that polluted surface and ground water. In 1978, the Bureau of Water Pollution Control (later known as Utah Divi- sion of Water Quality (DWQ)) issued its first municipal and industrial discharge permits. AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS www.aaee.net State Representative/ UEC Representative Kiran Bhayani, P.E., D.E.E. State of Utah, DEQ 801-538-6080