BROOKS, Calif. – The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation won WateReuse’s 2009 Project of the Year Award for its Cache Creek Desalination Facility. Representatives accepted the award before an audience of hundreds of industry leaders Sept. 14 at the Annual WateReuse Symposium.

The WateReuse Association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the beneficial and efficient use of water resources. The annual symposium is an internationally distinguished conference devoted to water reuse and desalination. It was held in Seattle Sept. 13 – 16.

The innovative facility – designed by HydroScience Engineers and built by Manito Construction – helps maximize the use of recycled water and reduce the use of groundwater at Yocha Dehe’s Cache Creek Casino Resort. The facility pre-treats all of the water entering CCCR, removing naturally-occurring solids and salts that typically make water reuse difficult and expensive. Because of this facility, CCCR’s state-of-the-art recycling system is able to recapture and recycle enough water to supply all irrigation, toilets and decorative water fountains at the resort.

Environmental stewardship is a cornerstone of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation’s legacy, and the Cache Creek Desalination Facility is just one of many projects the tribe has taken on as part of its continuing efforts to preserve their land and conserve natural resources. The tribe’s comprehensive approach also involves alternative energy use, waste recycling and reuse, conservation easements, ecological restoration and sustainable farming practices.

Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is the first tribe to win an annual award from the WateReuse Association.