Sewer Hookup Fee, Rates Expected To Rise Necessary Improvements To Treatment Plant, Stricter Environmental Standards Cited As Reasons

The price Spokane County charges new sewer customers may double as county commissioners search for ways to speed up sewer work.

City residents probably will face higher sewer rates as well. That’s because the regional sewage treatment plant needs expensive improvements.

It costs between $7,000 and $8,000 to provide new sewer service to the typical home. Homeowners now pay $2,600, and the county uses state grants and local taxes to pay the rest.

The areas most affected by the change are in north Spokane and the Spokane Valley.

There’s no question the county’s sewer assessment will increase significantly. The only question is, how much?

A financial consultant suggests homeowners pay 85 percent of the cost, or at least $5,950. County Commissioner Steve Hasson, at a meeting with the county’s water quality advisory committee on Thursday, said he thinks homeowners should pay 75 percent, which would be $5,250 or more.

That cost doesn’t include the $900 fee new sewer customers pay toward components of the system used by all customers.

In addition, Hasson wants the county to start a kitty for the county’s share of costs for improving the treatment plant near Riverside State Park.

State officials say the treated sewage discharged from the plant into the Spokane River violates new environmental standards. It contains too much ammonia.

Fixing that problem alone would cost about $100 million, according to estimates by the city of Spokane, which operates the plant.

Building a pipeline so the treated sewage could be discharged on land could cost more than $100 million, but might be cheaper in the long run, said Dennis Scott, county public works director.

Scott, along with other county and city officials, worries the state will continue to tighten its standards for plants that discharge into the river. If that’s the case, the $100 million improvement wouldn’t be the last one - and maybe not even the most costly one - required.

“Five years ago, phosphorus was the buzzword. Now it’s ammonia,” he said. “How do we know five years from now, metals won’t be the issue?”

Most county officials believe state and federal regulations eventually will ban discharging into rivers altogether.

“It’s just a question of when,” said Commissioner Phil Harris, who lives on Lake Spokane, downstream from the treatment plant. He doesn’t buy assurances that the water discharged from the plant is clean enough to drink.

“If that’s the case, let’s see someone drink a glassful,” he said.

Hasson and Harris directed the water quality committee to study alternatives to discharging into the river. The city also is looking at possibilities, and is considering how the city would fund its share of the improvements, said plant superintendant Tim Pelton.

“We really don’t have any clear answer,” said Pelton.