Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority (VVWRA) was formed in 1981 and treats wastewater for an area of the Mojave Desert made up of nearly 400,000 residents. Much of the wastewater is recycled and returned to the local Mojave River. The recycled water is also used in the cooling tower of a local power plant.

VVWRA is dedicated to using its recycled water and biogas resources to save energy costs and lessen its impact on the environment. The Authority has begun construction on two sub regional water reclamation facilities in Apple Valley and Hesperia that will supply more than 2,200 acre feet of recycled water every year to be used at area parks and golf courses.

VVWRA is also dedicated to reducing its carbon footprint through a series of programs that convert biogas, including methane, to energy. The energy generated through these programs is helping power plant operations. In 2014, VVWRA partnered with Anaergia LLC to retrofit a previously decommissioned anaerobic digester to increase sludge capacity. The project uses proprietary technology to triple biogas production which will power large 2G generators that will supply nearly all of the plants electrical needs. It is expected to be fully on line by mid-2015. It’s anticipated that in the future, the project will be able to export excess electricity to offset the power usage from the two water recycling plants currently under construction.

VVWRA received a 2017 Better Project Award for installing a 1.6 MW CHP system fueled by on-site produced biogas that has achieved $473,000 in annual energy cost savings.