Photos by Mechel Meek The Center community gathered Thursday, May 12, to celebrate the opening of a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant with a ribbon cutting and tour of the facility. The Center wastewater treatment plant project was made possible through numerous grants by the USDA, DOLA and other entities. People toured Center’s new wastewater treatment plant on May 12.

CENTER — The Center community gathered Thursday, May 12, to celebrate the opening of a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant with a ribbon cutting and tour of the facility.

This facility has been a long-term project that has finally come to fruition. The facility is not finished, but it will be fully operational soon.

The ribbon cutting was followed by a small lunch and a tour of the facility. This facility, according to officials, is the first of its type here in Colorado, and is using the latest technology to handle the wastewater needs of Center and the surrounding areas.

According to Moe Jones, who is on the Sanitation Board, “We’ve Got to clean up our environment and this is one great way to do it.”

The new facility can handle a greater amount of wastewater while functioning at a more efficient level.

This new facility comes as the addition of the North 90 acreage will be adding homes and businesses wastewater that will need treatment, as well as any future expansion in the town.

The ambitious $11.791 million project was made possible through numerous grants by the USDA, DOLA and other entities.

The facility will be run by Town of Center employees when it is completed and is an example of what can be accomplished through the considerate and careful use of grant funding in rural communities, officials stated.