Council, engineers discuss next steps for wastewater plant

The Cathlamet Town Council and consulting engineers on Monday reviewed the predesign report for a new wastewater treatment plant.

The council is nearing the point where it will make a decision on when and how the plant will be constructed. The town can proceed to seek grant and loan funding and build the plant on its own, or it can call for proposals from firms that would design, build and operate the plant on a long term contract.

Mayor Dick Swart and Public Works Superintendent David Vik are set to attend the state Infrastructure Assistance Coordinating Conference where municipalities will present utility projects and discuss funding possibilities.

Later this month, the council plans to meet with two firms that have expressed interest in the design-build-operate process.

The town has secured a site for the plant on land purchased from Wahkiakum School District.

As engineer Ken Anderson of Gray and Osborne, Inc., explained, existing sewers will carry waste to the area of the existing treatment plant; from there it will be pumped uphill to the new plant. After treatment, the wastewater will descend through the existing outfall into the Columbia River.

The whole project is now estimated to cost $13 million.

Under the conventional process, with the town building and operating the plant, the impact on customers would vary according to how much funding is grants and how much is loans, with a low of $34 per month and a high of $123.

Theoretically in a design-build-operate process, the rate impact could be lower than if the town financed the project, but because the plant and system are relatively small, the financial benefits of economy of scale are low, the engineers said, and there probably won’t be much difference.

One key, said consultant John Wolf, is how the change in federal administration will affect financing for public works projects.

The council can wait a year or two to see how things go and to accumulate funds, but costs have been inflating rapidly the past few years, the engineers said.

Because the town is under order from the state Department of Ecology to upgrade the plant, that agency might not look favorably on delays, Wolf said.

“It would be good for the town to discuss this with DOE,” Wolf said.

wastewater will descend go through the existing outfall into the Columbia River.

The whole project is now estimated to cost $13 million.

Under the conventional process, with town building and operating the plant, the impact on customers would vary according to how much funding is grants and how much is loans, with a low of $34 per month and a high of $123.

Theoretically in a design-build-operate process, the rate impact could be lower than if the town financed the project, but because the plant and system are relatively small, the financial benefits of economy of scale are low, the engineers said, and there probably won’t be much difference.

One key, said consultant John Wolf, is how the change in federal administration will affect financing for public works projects.

The council can wait a year or two to see how things go and to accumulate funds, but costs have been inflating rapidly the past few years, the engineers said.

Because the town is under order from the state Department of Ecology to upgrade the plant, that agency might not look favorably on delays, Wolf said.

“It would be good for the town to discuss this with DOE,” Wolf said.

by Rick Nelson

The Cathlamet Town Council and consulting engineers on Monday reviewed the predesign report for a new wastewater treatment plant.

The council is nearing the point where it will make a decision on when and how the plant will be constructed. The town can proceed to seek grant and loan funding and build the plant on its own, or it can call for proposals from firms that would design, build and operate the plant on a long term contract.

Mayor Dick Swart and Public Works Superintendent David Vik are set to attend the state Infrastructure Assistance Coordinating Conference where municipalities will present utility projects and discuss funding possibilities.

Later this month, the council plans to meet with two firms that have expressed interest in the design-build-operate process.

The town has secured a site for the plant on land purchased from Wahkiakum School District.

As engineer Ken Anderson of Gray and Osborne, Inc., explained, existing sewers will carry waste to the area of the existing treatment plant; from there it will be pumped uphill to the new plant. After treatment, the wastewater will descend through the existing outfall into the Columbia River.

The whole project is now estimated to cost $13 million.

Under the conventional process, with the town building and operating the plant, the impact on customers would vary according to how much funding is grants and how much is loans, with a low of $34 per month and a high of $123.

Theoretically in a design-build-operate process, the rate impact could be lower than if the town financed the project, but because the plant and system are relatively small, the financial benefits of economy of scale are low, the engineers said, and there probably won’t be much difference.

One key, said consultant John Wolf, is how the change in federal administration will affect financing for public works projects.

The council can wait a year or two to see how things go and to accumulate funds, but costs have been inflating rapidly the past few years, the engineers said.

Because the town is under order from the state Department of Ecology to upgrade the plant, that agency might not look favorably on delays, Wolf said.

“It would be good for the town to discuss this with DOE,” Wolf said.

wastewater will descend go through the existing outfall into the Columbia River.

The whole project is now estimated to cost $13 million.

Under the conventional process, with town building and operating the plant, the impact on customers would vary according to how much funding is grants and how much is loans, with a low of $34 per month and a high of $123.

Theoretically in a design-build-operate process, the rate impact could be lower than if the town financed the project, but because the plant and system are relatively small, the financial benefits of economy of scale are low, the engineers said, and there probably won’t be much difference.

One key, said consultant John Wolf, is how the change in federal administration will affect financing for public works projects.

The council can wait a year or two to see how things go and to accumulate funds, but costs have been inflating rapidly the past few years, the engineers said.

Because the town is under order from the state Department of Ecology to upgrade the plant, that agency might not look favorably on delays, Wolf said.

“It would be good for the town to discuss this with DOE,” Wolf said.