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The Sterling plant will include a demonstration garden and educational resources for area students.

Decades, a band based in Chico, will perform at the celebration.

The Sterling plant will include a demonstration garden and educational resources for area students.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 25, for the Sterling Natural Resource Center, a $128 million wastewater treatment plant just east of Highland that will contribute up to 10 million gallons of purified water daily to the groundwater basin.

The East Valley Water District launched the project on 14 acres west of North Del Rosa Drive between East Fifth and East Sixth streets in Highland in 2018.

It will include a demonstration garden and educational resources for area students.

It will generate 2,200 local jobs.

“We’re right on schedule,” said district spokesman William Ringhold.

The center will use the most advanced and safest technology including membrane bioreactors to produce disinfected water that meets or exceeds all requirements for groundwater recharge and positively enhances the community.

Eliminating odors and other negative attributes associated with treatment plants of the past has been achieved through advancements in technology and design techniques, according to eastvalley.org.

The center will contribute to the Upper Santa Ana River Habitat Conservation Plan, a multi-agency project that protects threatened plant and animal species such as the San Bernardino kangaroo rat and create new habitat to assist in their vitality.

Indian Springs High School, adjacent to the facility, is working with water districts to develop educational opportunities for students to have hands-on experiences with wastewater treatment and to gain a better understanding of the science involved in the purification process.

The center is named after A.E. Sterling, a local pioneer who helped in the establishment of multiple water agencies, designed the Redlands Country Club golf course and was a founding member of the Highland Chamber of Commerce.

The golf course was completed in 1896.

Striving to inspire and prepare future water professionals, the SNRC has partnered with San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) and San Bernardino Valley College to develop a Water and Resource Management Pathway Program to prepare local students for a career in the water and wastewater industry.

“Every day water and wastewater professionals work to protect the world’s most precious resource,” said district manager John Mura in a press release. “Our community depends on us to maintain safe and reliable water and water systems.”

The district has expressed concerns about replacing retiring water district officials.

The new plant is next to Indian Springs High School. Students will be invited to participate in the training programs.

The Sterling Natural Resource Center is being funded by a variety of sources. Funding has been provided in full or in part by Proposition 1, the Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund through an agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board.

Proposition 1 authorized $7.545 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects. It was approved by more than two-thirds of California voters.

California’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund is capitalized through a variety of funding sources, including grants from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and state bond proceeds.

There are 100,000 miles of sanitary sewer lines leading to more than 900 wastewater treatment plants that manage the roughly 4 billion gallons of wastewater generated in the state each day, according to the California Water Education Foundation.

East Valley Water District serves more than 103,000 people in the cities of Highland and San Bernardino along with areas of unincorporated San Bernardino County.

With a service area just over 30 square miles, the district has three sources for water: the Santa Ana River, the Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin and the State Water Project, according to eastvalley.org.

Decades, a band based in Chico, will perform at the celebration.

Celebration of the Sterling Natural Resource Center

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