At a meeting on June 23, Chandler City Council approved the agreements that will allow construction of a new Reclaimed Water Interconnect Facility (RWIF). This facility will support drought prevention and expand reclaimed water uses.

The RWIF will be located at the Airport Water Reclamation Facility, 905 E. Queen Creek Road. The RWIF will be an advanced membrane water treatment facility to treat surface water from both Salt River Project and Colorado River sources. The additional supply of water produced from this facility will be used to supplement the City’s groundwater recharge efforts as well as supply additional water for industrial cooling at Intel’s expanded facilities.

Reclaimed water is vital to Chandler’s water supply. It is wastewater that has been treated to very high standards for use in irrigation, lakes, industrial use, and aquifer recharge. The availability of reclaimed water allows the City to reduce demand for surface water supplies, saving drinking water for the future.

The City has prepared for this project over the past few years. In May 2019, Chandler City Council approved an agreement for the funding and construction of improvements needed to support Intel’s capital investment at its Ocotillo Plant, located at 4500 S. Dobson Road. This project will be funded by the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR), Intel, and the City of Chandler.

In April 2021, City council approved an agreement between the City and Intel for the funding and construction of the RWIF, with costs shared 50-50. Now, as construction is about to begin on this project, City Council voted on June 23 to approve an amendment to the project agreement to reflect the revised cost of construction, $45,000,000.

Construction for the RWIF is scheduled to begin immediately and the project is expected to be completed in 2024.

Learn more by visiting Chandler’s Reclaimed Water System.