In the past 18 months, the La Center Wastewater Treatment Plant received $13 million in upgrades that made it less noticeable than before. And officials say that’s how they like it.
The expansion project’s results include fewer odor and noise complaints, cleaner water released into the Lewis River and more fertilizer for the Lewis River Reforestation Project in Woodland, officials said. In addition, the plant, which once was the largest water consumer in the city, now uses the same amount of water as an average single household per year.
The city’s growth in recent years, expected growth in the next two decades and increased regulations made the expansion necessary, officials said. The plant, which is at the entrance to town, receives all of the water and solid waste from La Center homes, plus groundwater and rainwater.
La Center officials showcased the plant’s additions to the public Friday during an open house. The plant remained operational during the entire 18-month project.
“I don’t think the average citizen will realize much of a tangible difference,” said Sue Lawrence, the treatment plant’s superintendent. “It’s not adversely affecting the quality of life” of area residents in regards to noise and smell coming from the facility, she added.
La Center paid for the majority of the expansion with a $10 million Public Works Trust Fund loan payable over 20 years. The city also supplied $1.5 million in matching dollars and another $1.5 million from its reserves.
Engineering and environmental-science consulting firm Kennedy/Jenks Consultants served as the project’s engineers, and industrial contractor McClure & Sons Inc. of Mill Creek handled construction duties.
The plant’s expansion project will offer benefits to La Center residents for years to come, Mayor Jim Irish said. The plant can now handle as much as 3 million gallons of water per day. That could increase in the future, should the need arise.
“The upgrade not only expands the city’s ability to provide services to meet current and future demands, it increases the reliability and assurance of clean water for the environment,” Irish said in a written statement.
The plant added four membrane bioreactors that do a better job removing debris such as food, gravel and hypodermic needles from the water. This allows the plant to filter cleaner water back into the East Fork of the Lewis River.
To reduce waste in the water supply, officials encouraged residents to dump fats into the garbage rather than down the drain.
Water cleaned on site is reused for other operations, except lab work done to test chemical levels in the water. This saves taxpayers $15,000 per year, officials said.
The water-cleaning process is more efficient, and the noise has lessened because the equipment is newer. The noise and smell emitted from the plant also have decreased because a better air-filtering system has reduced the stench, said Jeff Sarvis, director of the La Center Public Works Department.
Sarvis said a newly purchased rotary press has reduced the time it takes to compact the debris into “cakes” that the Lewis River Forestation Project uses to fertilize trees. The rotary press, which was made by an Italian company, is the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, officials said.
It takes as much as five days for the wastewater to be cleaned and discharged from the plant.
The project’s relatively low cost made such innovations possible.
“We were fortunate we went to bond in 2009,” Sarvis said. “We got good bids because the economy was in the tank.”
La Center’s good fortune will likely continue to be an afterthought for most of its residents, as they flush their toilets and wash their hands. But officials aren’t concerned.
“A lot of people drive by the plant and don’t see it,” Lawrence said.
“And that’s a good thing,” Sarvis added, without missing a beat.
