Cleaning fat, oil, and grease blockages from sewers in Sierra Vista, Ariz., was an unending nightmare for Hector Hagele. He swore that if he ever had the chance to change how food establishments handled FOG, he would pursue it.
Hagele got his wish when the city built its Environmental Operations Park in 2002. The facility includes a 10-acre automated wastewater treatment plant that handles 4 mgd without chemical or mechanical means. FOG in the all-natural process would lower pH and affect the microorganisms, so engineers limited it to 25 mg/l at the headworks — the strictest requirement in the state.
Hagele, now
