PORT TOWNSEND — The city’s new $13 million water treatment facility will use an ultrafiltration system that will make city water cleaner and safer, according to the city manager.
“The water coming out of this facility provides quality assurance beyond what is necessary,” said David Timmons.
“It gives us the maximum protection from bacteria and is also a more stable system that will be able to withstand an earthquake.”
A story on Page A1 of Wednesday’s Jefferson County edition erroneously said the plant would use ultraviolet treatment and that the water is now filtered.
It also included incorrect figures for the monthly capital surcharge fee charged to water customers.
The city had previously planned ultraviolet treatment to meet the federal requirements for unfiltered water, but in September 2013, the City Council changed the treatment approach to ultrafiltration because of the costs associated with new watershed management criteria required by the state Department of Health.
Ultrafiltration system
The ultrafiltration system forces water through a semi-permeable membrane for purification.
Timmons said the switch caused a one-year delay in the project.
The City Council unanimously voted Monday to authorize the city manager to award a $13 million contract with Stellar J Construction of Woodland for the construction of the new facility, which is expected to take about a year to build.
The construction of the new facility is funded with a combination of grants and low-interest loans to be paid off within 20 years along with a monthly capital surcharge fee.
Fees
The fee assesses each customer within city limits $18 and each outside the city $21.60 a month.
These rates will respectively increase to $24 and $28.80 in 2018.
The fees will remain in place until the loan is paid off, Timmons said.
The plant will change the path of the water, he said.
Currently, the water is piped from the Big Quilcene and Little Quilcene rivers to the City Lake reservoir, where it is chlorinated, then routed either to the Port Townsend Paper Corp. or to the distribution facility at the site of the future filtration plant.
With the new system, the water will bypass City Lake and go directly to the facility, where chlorination and filtration will occur.
The current water sent to customers is unfiltered, Timmons said.
Under the new system, less chlorine will be needed for the purification process.
“The purpose of the new water treatment facility is to remove cryptosporidium from the water,” Public Works Director Ken Clow said.
“This organism is not effectively treated by chlorine.”
Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite that causes diarrheal disease.
The new facility will be on secured property at the west end of 20th Street that is not now open to the public.
Public tours of the facility will be offered after its completion.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
