CALABASAS : Composting Plant Grand Opening Set

Final preparations are under way for the dedication later this month of the new Rancho Las Virgenes composting facility, one of the first in the United States to recycle nearly all of the water and solids from the sewage it collects.

The $50-million plant turns sewer sludge into garden fertilizer.

The grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 28 at the $50-million facility at 3700 Las Virgenes Road. Reservations are required, according to Steve Witbeck, reclamation supervisor for Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, which built the facility. Anyone interested should call 880-4110 by Sept. 12.

The event includes self-guided tours and a talk by Dr. Alan Rubin, senior scientist of the Water Environment Federation.

The plant was fully operational in May, Witbeck said.

Before the final product can be used as fertilizer, it must be documented safe, Witbeck said. District customers will be offered the product free.

The district, which serves 20,000 homes, already purifies waste water it receives and uses most of that to irrigate farmland.

The new facility works like this: Sewer solids are brought by pipe from the Tapia water reclamation facility, about two miles away. The sludge is kept in tanks in the new facility for about two months, to allow microscopic bugs to feed on harmful bacteria.

The sludge is then spun dry and pushed by conveyor belt to another building, where it is mixed with sawdust and baked for another month. The entire facility is enclosed.

Calabasas City Manager Charles Cate said Tuesday that the city is hoping to eventually be able to use some of its green waste in the processing of sludge at the facility. That would help the city comply with a state law that requires the city to reduce the amount of solid waste that it takes to landfills by 25% in 1995 and 50% by the year 2000.