The application for the use of a rock crusher on the southwest water reclamation facility site at St. Rose Parkway and Pecos Road was approved at the July 17 Henderson City Council Meeting.
Neighbors voiced concerns about the rock crusher's proximity to homes; the noise, vibration and potential dust; the hours it would be in operation; and the length of crusher use.
"The citizens weren't given a chance to oppose it or discuss it," said Henderson resident Mike Neilson. "We had questions and didn't have an opportunity for answers."
Eric Hawkins, president of H2Outreach, was hired by Capriati Construction to put together a plan for the building. He met with the neighbors on July 11 and said the discussion brought up some proposed solutions, including moving the crusher to the southeast corner of the site, 750 feet from the nearest residence.
Hawkins said the crusher's operation hours will not begin until 7 a.m., and the crusher will be used only during the first phase of construction, which includes landscaping and building a berm around the rock crusher.
Henderson resident Todd Croft said the neighbors are opposed to an operational crusher at the site, and although "a lot has been done in the last week, it is disconcerting it's the 11th hour and we're just finding out about the crusher."
Hawkins said the rock crusher will limit construction traffic on St. Rose Parkway. Without the crusher, trucks could have to haul more than 8,000 loads a day taking rocks to an offsite crusher and then bringing dirt back to the site to build a berm, Hawkins said.
About $2.5 million also would be saved by having the crusher on site, and the length of phase one construction should take half the time, about four months, Hawkins said.
Hawkins added, the noise from the crusher will be below the level of ambient traffic noise from St. Rose Parkway.
Ward 4 Councilman Steven Kirk said the "neighbors' concerns aren't wrong, but I think this is the best resolution I've heard."
Ward 1 Councilwoman Gerri Schroder said she thought it was better to have the crusher on site and get the construction over and done with.
In 1999, the city recognized the need for a satellite water reclamation facility to support the community's increasing wastewater treatment demands and to provide better service to its reuse water customers. After discussion with residents, it was agreed that a 15-foot-high berm that would add walking trails and a barrier to the facility would be built.
Reclaimed water is wastewater that has been cleaned and highly treated to a level that is safe for use in irrigation, industrial coolant, dust control or in water features. While not intended for drinking water, the water is safe for plants and even human contact in irrigated areas such as parks, playing fields, construction sites and golf courses, according to the city of Henderson Web site, www.cityofhenderson.com.
The city uses reclaimed water primarily as irrigation for golf courses, a cemetery and Boulder Highway medians. Reclaimed water also supplies the nine ponds that support the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve.
Reclaimed water that is not used is returned to the Colorado River system and earns return flow credits. That means that for every gallon of reclaimed water the city returns to the system, it gets back an equal amount of drinking water.
Ward 3 Councilman Jack Clark was the only member to vote against the request, which was approved with the condition that a status report would be given at the Dec. 4 meeting.
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