CARLSBORG — Carlsborg could have a wastewater treatment and reuse system up and running by the middle of 2012, according to a pre-draft sewer facilities plan.
John Wilson, an engineer with Seattle-based BHC Consultants, presented the preliminary draft to the three Clallam County commissioners and the Clallam County Public Utilities District commissioners earlier this week.
He will expand on that presentation in a public forum from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Greywolf Elementary School, 171 Carlsborg Road, Sequim.
The sewer for the Carlsborg Urban Growth Area is a joint proposal of Clallam County and the Clallam County Public Utilities District No.1.
The governing bodies have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop the sewer for the growing, unincorporated village west of Sequim.
Once completed, the PUD will become the owner and operator of the system.
Wilson led a Carlsborg sewer feasibility study, which was approved by the county and the PUD last year.
Nearly $15 million
The estimated cost of the sewer system is $14,970,000.
About a third of that would come from local, state and federal grants, Wilson said.
The remainder would be assessed to property owners.
According to Wilson’s estimates, the monthly fee would be $62.50 in the first few years of its operation.
As more and more residents tap into the system, the cost would fall to about $50.
The initial sewer would run a main trunk north and south along Carlsborg Road to a treatment facility with percolation basin near Runnion Road and Carlsborg Road.
The treated Class A water would filter from the percolation basin into Matriotti Creek.
Property owners who decide to tap into the system down the road will have that option, Wilson said. The initial system will have 120 hookups, according to the pre-draft plan.
The facility would be built for future expansion and to handle estimated demand for 2050.
Clallam County has a vested interest in the sewer system because Carlsborg was ruled non-compliant and invalid with the Growth Management Act by a state hearings board.
Urban services
Urban Growth Areas are required to have such urban services as sewers.
“We considered a bunch of alternatives,” Wilson told the county commissioners.
“Let’s start by saying, of course, we looked at the city of Sequim option for treatment and disposal.”
It would be about 10 percent cheaper to transmit wastewater across the Dungeness River to the Sequim sewer system. However, if the water is to be brought back to Carlsborg for reuse in the groundwater supply, it’s about 10 percent cheaper to build a new facility, Wilson said.
Treated water can be used for irrigation, riparian habitat and recharging the aquifer.
Water conservation and reuse is a high priority in a water-short Water Resource Inventory Area 18, which includes Carlsborg.
A full environmental review with state Department of Ecology approval would precede any construction.
On-site septic systems are leaking nitrates into the groundwater, according to the language in the pre-draft facilities plan.
Nitrate concentrations have risen to approach or exceed maximum levels for drinking water, and the treatment and reuse system would remove those nitrates and “get a good reduction of phosphorus,” Wilson said.
A draft time line targets October 2010 for environmental approval, January 2011 for construction start and July 2012 for customer connection.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
