Waitsburg Council Faces Wastewater Concerns

WAITSBURG-During their Aug. 15 meeting, the Waitsburg City Council discussed potential solutions to ongoing issues with the city's wastewater treatment facility. According to City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe, the system's two digesters are nearing capacity.

Hinchliffe presented possible options to alleviate the immediate need, which included trying to find a temporary press or finding an organization to accept and transport the excess waste.

The Council received packets that included a quote for a new press, which would cost approximately $300,000 and take a minimum of six months to assemble. Councilmembers unanimously approved a motion to seek out a new press. The costs to cover the expense may come from the city's emergency fund.

Hinchliffe says he is "working on a temporary solution to keep from getting to that point...when the city is forced to discharge directly into the river."

Washington state licensed hydrogeologist Llyn Doremus was also in attendance and said her office is ready to work with the city to apply for ecology funds, the deadline for which is October 16th.

"There is still some capacity in the second digester tank," Doremus said in an email to The Times. "If I remember correctly, in about two to three weeks it will also be filled. If the solids in the first digester tank cannot be separated from the liquid by the screw press they will end up back in the treatment system, which will overload the clarifiers."

Doremus' email continued, "If the solids aren't 'wasted' to the digester tank from the clarifier (because the digester tanks are full), the overloaded clarifiers start releasing solids with the liquid through the rest of the treatment process, upsetting the normal treatment, and then discharging untreated wastewater and solids to the wetlands. This constitutes a violation of the Waitsburg Wastewater Discharge Permit. That violation triggers an enforcement action, and Waitsburg can be fined up to $10,000 a day for the illegal discharge."