Copperopolis, CA…Congress passed its Fiscal Year 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Bill this month and has included $1 million dollars for Calaveras County Water District’s (CCWD) Copper Cover Reclamation Facility Improvements Project. This has been a huge multi-year effort by CCWD’s staff, board of directors, and consultant Mia O’Connell. CCWD is honored and thankful to have had continued support from US Representative Tom McClintock, and Senators Diane Feinstein, Alex Padilla, and former Senator Kamala Harris. This would not have been possible without them. Director Scott Ratterman, Chair of CCWD’s Legal Affairs committee said, “This project is part of CCWD’s effort to help offset the cost of infrastructure projects, and we are really grateful for the support at the congressional level. We are excited to finally start this project.”

The project will ensure the reclamation facility located in Copperopolis will comply with current and future regulations while meeting local demand for reclaimed water, which offsets the use of surface water from the Stanislaus River. In addition, the rehabilitation of the facility is vital to prevent potentially harmful wastewater spills into environmentally sensitive areas. CCWD is planning to implement this project in a phased approach. The next step for CCWD will be to work with the local Sacramento office of the Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning for project implementation.

CCWD owns and operates the Copper Cove wastewater treatment plant and water reclamation facility, which serves the community of Copperopolis. This service area has approximately 1,800 sewer customers.