Barona Casino's new sewage-treatment plant will benefit all reservation residents; the plant features a technology never before used in the United States.

LAKESIDE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 1995--Barona Casino, owned by the Barona Band of Mission Indians, is currently constructing a new state-of-the-art sewage-treatment plant which will serve more than just casino patrons.

The plant will greatly benefit the more than 100 households on the Barona Indian Reservation, according to Clifford LaChappa, Barona Tribal Chairman.

Following its completion, expected by the end of January, the $1.8 million sewage-treatment plant will be able to process up to 150,000 gallons of wastewater per day, which is enough capacity to handle the entire reservation population and more than 7,000 casino guests.

According to LaChappa, specially equipped trucks will be sent to the home of Barona Indian Reservation residents to empty the family's septic system and then transport the waste back to the plant for treatment.

"Here's another example of how casino revenues are helping to improve our own people's quality of life," LaChappa said.

The new plant, part of an overall casino expansion, has been in the planning stages during the past year. It will use a technology that has never been used before in the United States.

According to Albert Phoenix, Tribal Council Member, the new technology has not been used in the United States because of patent concerns by its Canadian inventors. Officials with Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Bioclear Technology Inc. said they recently received U.S. patent protection after a two-year effort.

The technology, developed in 1976, uses a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBRs) process which greatly reduces the treatment time from up to three months to less than eight hours.

Phoenix noted that other conventional wastewater processes -- where sludge is dried in open air -- requires several acres for treatment ponds. Also with conventional methods, there is a worry about pipeline breaks, odors and sludge leaks.

In addition, the conventional process can take up to 90 days to produce water that is clean enough for landscaping and decorative fountains, he said.

In contrast, Phoenix said the SBR process involves sending the raw sewage through steel-reinforced reactors where high concentrations of a bacteria solution break down the waste.

The sludge substance is then disinfected with chlorine and then dechlorinated for an end result that is close to drinking-water purity, he said.

In addition to a savings in time, Phoenix said the SBR process uses 20-percent less energy, compared with other types of wastewater- treatment technologies.

The five-tank system will be located underground in an area measuring about 20 feet wide by 50 feet in length. The only visible markings for the new sewer-treatment plant will be a single-story building that will sit above the tanks.

Inside the building will be a state-of-the-art, digital read-out monitoring system that will keep tabs on a variety of plant activities. The digital read-out system will be sent via phone lines to the Bioclear Technology office in Canada and will be monitored 24 hours a day by trained operators.

More than 30 SBR sewer-treatment plants currently operate in Canada, including plants that handle entire cities and others that serve several Indian reservations, according to Bioclear Technology officials.

Barona Casino, owned by the Barona Band of Mission Indians, is located in San Diego County's East County area on the Barona Indian Reservation in Lakeside. The casino, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offers more than 1,000 video and video-poker machines, Joker's Wild 21, bingo, poker, satellite wagering and an all-you-can- eat Las Vegas-style buffet.

For more information about Barona Casino, phone [phone] or 800/227-U-BET.

CONTACT: Barona Casino, Lakeside

              Linda Devine, 619/443-2300
                or
              Rick Griffin Marketing Communications
              619/461-3104 (phone)
              619/461-3151 (fax)