PROJECT HIGHLIGHT: Missouri River Water Resource Recovery Facility

Photo courtesy of Hawkins Construction Company
Ready Mixed Concrete has been working with Hawkins Construction on the third phase of the  Missouri River Water Resource Recovery Facility's improvement plan. 

Missouri River wastewater plant nears the end of its multi-phase facility improvement plan. 

By BRADY JONES
Lyman-Richey Communications

We all know water is an important element of concrete, but concrete is also playing an important role in our water systems.

Over the past 54 years, the Missouri River Water Resource Recovery Facility (MRWRRF) has been treating and cleaning Omaha's wastewater.

Photo by Clean Solutions for Omaha
Improvements to the MRWRRF will help reduce levels of bacteria that reach the river when weather water events exceed the facility's water capacities. 

Built in 1964, the MRWRRF has filtered, clarified, and disinfected an average of 25 million gallons of water every day before it is released into the Missouri River. 

But high volumes of water from rain or snowmelt can sometimes overwhelmed the facility, running the risk of dumping untreated water into the river. 

So the city began making improvements to the structure in three phases beginning in 2012. 

The first two phases have been completed, and included adding facilities to handle high strength industrial waste from South Omaha and increasing treatment capacities to 64 million gallons per day, according to the Clean Solutions for Omaha website.

The third phase — which started in 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2019 — will take that a step further and help the plant disinfect excess water so it doesn't get into the river untreated. 

Ready Mixed Concrete has played an active role in all phases of the project's development, supplying the concrete for the improvements and additions. 

These changes will help reduce the amount of bacteria that ends up in the Missouri River, making Omaha and the environment a cleaner and safer place.