Airway Heights designing water project

AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The city of Airway Heights intends to create new possibilities for the water that citizens now watch go down the drain.

City officials are working with engineers to design a $35 million water reclamation plant to accommodate growing needs. Planners and consultants met with citizens during a public meeting on Aug. 29.

Dennis Fuller, a project manager with Century West engineering, said treating the city’s wastewater would provide a new supply of nonpotable water, which would be unsuitable for drinking or bathing but could be used for irrigation or industrial uses. Some water could also return to the aquifer.

“The water sources in the West Plains have been stressed over the years,” Fuller said.

Treated wastewater from the plant could be used throughout Airway Heights for irrigation, commercial applications and environmental renewal, he said. All water would be treated to Class A standards – the cleanest of four reclaimed water levels from A to D.

Under the plan, the amount of fresh water available for human consumption and other potable uses would increase because industrial users would be using the treated water instead of relying solely on drinking water like everyone else.

Reclaimed water can serve a wider variety of uses, Fuller said. The facility is expected to treat as many as 1 million gallons of wastewater a day upon completion in 2011.

“We’re going to maximize reuse opportunities,” he said.

City Public Works director Albert Tripp said the current collection system directs approximately 680,000 gallons of wastewater to Spokane everyday for treatment. The water is treated and released into the Spokane River.

Local representatives and officials formed a committee in 2003 to explore different approaches to wastewater disposal, he said. Options included an expanded agreement with the city of Spokane or treatment at a plant in Medical Lake.

“We came to the conclusion that it was in our best interest to actually construct our own facility,” Tripp said.

The city purchased land north of McFarlane Road between Lawson and Russell Streets, he said. The site will allow for expansion to meet the city’s growing water needs for at least 20 years.

Construction should begin in 2009 after funding is secured in the form of grants and loans, Tripp said.

The city is still figuring out exactly how to pay for it, but officials are considering a combination of bonds, state grants and government-sponsored loan programs.

The construction should proceed in two phases, Fuller said. The first would establish the facility and another would expand the capacity.

The initial construction is expected to take 18 months starting in the summer of 2009, he said. The facility will then process 1 million gallons a day at capacity and cost $690,000 a year to operate.

Fuller said the second phase should follow within five years. It will expand the plant’s capacity to 1.5 million gallons of wastewater a day.

The water will receive advanced biological treatment and filtration, he said. Water will receive membrane and coagulation filtration. Nitrogen will also be removed.

“[Wastewater] will flow over a series of concrete treatment basins,” Fuller said. “They remove targeted contaminants in wastewater.”

Solid waste will be hauled to a separate sludge facility for disposal, he said.

Fuller said some of the water is expected to receive additional treatment so it can be used to recharge the area’s aquifer. The water would be treated to an “A-plus” standard and released just below the surface south of the facility.

Craig Riley, with the Washington State Department of Health, said the water will be released near the surface to take advantage of natural filtration as the water percolates 120 feet down to the aquifer.

“There’s going to be additional benefits that come with this 120 feet,” he said.

The treatment and soil percolation will return the water to safe drinking levels, he said. City officials will be responsible for monitoring output at the facility and testing nearby wells for quality.

Riley said the WSDOH and the state Department of Ecology will be working together throughout the project to ensure safe water standards are upheld.

“If it does not meet treatment quality, it doesn’t go out,” Riley said. “I’m not going to let you get sick.”

Project planners hope to meet with residents near the plant site this fall for additional input. The final designs for the facility should be complete by the end of the year.