Oak Harbor has Puget Sound’s future in mind

The city of Oak Harbor is about to bring Puget Sound’s newest wastewater treatment plant online. It’s designed to fit alongside a revitalized downtown park, service the community’s needs for many years, and contribute to continuing efforts to restore and protect water quality in the Sound.  

The administration building at Oak Harbor's new wastewater treatment

plant will include an interpretive center and multi purpose space. 

Oak Harbor dedicated its new plant, located on the Whidbey Island city’s namesake inlet, today. We couldn’t be happier to be part of the celebration. 

We’ve provided over $105 million dollars in financial assistance, through low interest loans and grants, for design and construction of the $128 million dollar project.

New capacity

The plant will be able to treat up to 5 million gallons of wastewater per day. The city’s current daily volume is about 1.5 million gallons, serving about 22,300 people.

“I want to commend the city for its early and ongoing proactive community outreach and communication. The city went to great lengths to ensure that information was shared with its citizens from planning through construction,” said Jeff Nejedly, who oversees Ecology’s Water Quality grants and loans, at the ribbon-cutting event.

Jeff Nejedly, financial assistance supervisor, and Shawn McKone,
municipal wastewater treatment plant permit manager, were among
Ecology's staff who helped the city develop the new facility.

The new all-indoor plant replaces two outdated facilities. One was a smaller city-owned plant that was located near the new plant site. The other is a large wastewater lagoon plant located at Naval Air Station Whidbey – Seaplane Base.

Advanced technology

Oak Harbor’s new system treats wastewater with membrane bioreactors, or “MBRs.” The advanced technology uses ultra-filtration membranes to remove solids left over after beneficial microbes digest the city’s sewage. The result is water that has had most of its impurities removed and residual solids that can be further processed for beneficial use as a fertilizer.

“This advanced wastewater treatment system is capable of producing high-quality “Class A” reclaimed water that can be used for irrigation in parks and in other public areas. This can reduce dependence on drinking water sources for activities that don’t require drinkable water,” said Nejedly.

Oak Harbor's new treatment plant, upper right, nears completion
next to Windjammer Park, center, undergoing its own upgrade.

Re-usable water

The first planned use for the plant’s reclaimed water will be irrigation for the adjacent Windjammer Park, which the city is redeveloping in tandem with the treatment plant project.  The city is in the process of finalizing a proposal to divert a portion of the water produced at the facility for these purposes.

The MBR technology is capable of producing water that contains lower levels of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, than conventional wastewater treatment systems. Excess nitrogen can cause conditions that upset the Puget Sound food web. Maintaining healthy conditions promotes the recovery of salmon, which are the natural prey of Puget Sound’s southern resident orcas.

Oak Harbor’s work on the new plant dates back to 2010 and earlier, when city staff and elected officials determined that the city’s growth would exceed the existing treatment plants’ capacity. Staff from our Water Quality Program provided technical review and assistance on sizing and designing the new system, in addition to the financial assistance.

 Get more information from Oak Harbor’s Clean Water Facility Project website.

By Larry Altose, communications manager, Northwest Regional Office

Recently passed capital budget unlocks 2018 funds to support clean water

Ecology is offering nearly $220 million in financial assistance for 163 high-priority clean water projects across Washington state. This funding, for the last fiscal year 2018 (July 2017 through June 2018), was held up when the capital budget was not passed during the previous legislative session. Now, these projects can move forward to support jobs and water quality projects in local communities.

Our funding supports local communities by helping them upgrade sewage treatment systems, manage polluted stormwater runoff, and complete a variety of projects to prevent pollution.

We also recently ended a public comment period for this fiscal year’s (2019) funding.

Water quality grants help communities in need of funding protect Washington's waters.

Here are a few project highlights

Nonpoint pollution projects

Thirty-five projects are receiving $16 million in grants and loans to address nonpoint pollution that comes from widespread, hard-to-trace activities. Two projects will also receive $9 million to repair or replace on-site sewage systems.

Examples of these projects include:

• Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, Pierce County
  We have offered Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department in association with the nonprofit lender, Craft3, and 15 other counties a $1.5 million grant, a $1.5 million forgivable loan (funding that does not need to be paid back), and a $5 million low-interest-rate loan to expand the Regional Septic Program. The program provides affordable loans to homeowners and small businesses to repair failing onsite septic systems.

• Spokane Conservation District, Spokane County
  Spokane Conservation District will receive a $500,000 grant and a $3.3 million loan to reduce soil erosion through direct-seeding, creating riparian buffers, and implementing the Farmed Smart Sustainable Agriculture certification. Spokane Conservation District will partner with Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association and Palouse Rock Lake Conservation District for this project.

Wastewater projects 

Thirty wastewater treatment projects are receiving $110 million in funding. Thirteen of the projects qualify for special hardship financial assistance due to their potential impact on residential sewer bills.

High-priority wastewater hardship projects include:

• Warden, Grant County
  City of Warden will receive a $500,000 grant and a $1 million loan to extend its sewer system to include homes who currently discharge waste to an unlined lagoon. The project will decommission the lagoon which will help protect the city’s drinking water from contamination. 

• Carbonado, Pierce County
  Town of Carbonado will receive a $4.7 million grant and a $3 million loan to replace its old, failing sewer system that was installed in the early 1900s. This failing system is a threat to public health and the environment. If the system fails, it would risk raw sewage entering the environment and coming into contact with the public. Also, replacing this system will improve the water quality in the upper Carbon River.

Stormwater projects

Ninety-six communities across the state are receiving a total of $45 million in grants and loans to implement projects that focus on reducing stormwater pollution. In addition, 67 stormwater projects from fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2017 that were in “delayed” status are offered about $39 million in grants.

The highest-priority stormwater projects include:

• Tacoma, Pierce County
  City of Tacoma will receive a $5 million grant and a $3.2 million loan to improve water quality in the Flett Creek Watershed. The project will improve water quality by installing permeable pavement, providing basic treatment, and reducing stormwater flows from 17 blocks in the Tacoma Mall Neighborhood

• Spokane Valley, Spokane County
  City of Spokane Valley will receive a $654,732 grant for a low-impact development project. The project will design and install bio-infiltration swales to treat stormwater runoff along a major street and eliminate three acres of street runoff.

More information

Find out more about clean water financial assistance on our website. See the full funding offer list.

Find projects in your area using our interactive map online.

By Daniel Thompson and Stacy Galleher, Water Quality Program

Protect Your Groundwater Day is Sept. 8

by Lynne Geller, communications and outreach, Water Resources Program

Amidst all the holidays on your calendar, be sure not to overlook September 8: Protect Your Groundwater Day. Since we don’t see it (groundwater is water under the ground), it can be easy to overlook. But did you know that 99 percent of all available freshwater comes from aquifers underground?

It is not overstating to say that protecting our groundwater is essential to the health and well-being of people and the environment. If there is one thing our statewide drought is teaching us, it is not to take water for granted. Being a good steward of groundwater, every day, just makes sense.

And in case you need more reasons to care about groundwater:

• Most surface water bodies are connected to groundwater, so your impacts on groundwater can have far-reaching effects. By late summer, most of the water we see in streams is from groundwater.
• Many public water systems draw all or part of their supply from groundwater, so protecting the resource protects the public water supply and impacts treatment costs.
• If you own a well to provide water for your family, farm, or business, groundwater protection is doubly important. As a well owner, you are the manager of your own water system. Protecting groundwater will help reduce risks to your water supply.

 

The two sides of groundwater protection

There are two fundamental approaches to protecting our groundwater. We can all help maintain its quality and quantity by:

• Keeping it safe from contamination (water quality)
• Using it wisely by not wasting it (water quantity).

How we contribute to groundwater contamination

Human activities can pollute groundwater, and this is where each of us can help protect it. This pollution is preventable with proper care. Some of the most common culprits of groundwater contamination include:

1. Improper use of fertilizers, animal manures and pesticides
2. Improperly built or poorly located and/or maintained septic systems
3. Leaking or abandoned underground storage tanks
4. Improperly abandoned water wells
5. Stormwater drains that discharge chemicals to groundwater
6. Improper disposal of hazardous household wastes

Some contaminants are naturally occurring in the environment and therefore are naturally found in groundwater. These must be addressed through water treatment rather than groundwater protection.

What well owners can do to protect groundwater

There are 5 key strategies that you can start today that will protect your family, neighbors and community from contaminated groundwater.

1. Maintain your well
2. Test your water
3. Get a properly constructed well system
4. Use property best practices
5. Assess and respond to impacts from natural disasters.

Ecology manages well construction, licensing and reporting statewide. Another great resource for well owners is here.

 

Conserve water -- don’t waste it

Household leaks can waste more than
1 trillion gallons annually nationwide. 

ECOconnect blogs have been covering water conservation practices and ideas for a while now. So for this article, let’s approach water conservation in a slightly different way.

1. Especially with Washington’s 2015 drought, we are all becoming more aware of how important it is to use water wisely. But how do you know if you are doing a good or a poor job of not wasting water? Give your home water use a closer look by using a water calculator. It just takes a minute or two.

2. Look at your results, particularly in the areas of intensive water  use in your household, such as the bathroom or outdoor water use. (Bathroom water uses make up an average of ¾ of all indoor water use.) Where do you use water the most? Understanding this can provide hints on where the most water can be conserved. The internet is full of good tips.

3. Also consider whether you can save on consumption by installing a water-saving appliance or fixture, particularly in areas of the most intensive water use. Choose products that are water and energy efficient such as those designated by the U.S. EPA’s Water Sense program.

 

Ecology's mission to protect water supplies

Managing our water is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. One of Ecology’s priorities is to protect our water supplies, which we work on diligently and energetically day in and day out. A close look at the many activities we are involved with can be found throughout our website, including:

Protecting our water supplies with links to varied water topics including drought, water supply, and shorelands management

Groundwater is one of Washington’s most vital natural resources with links to all things groundwater including groundwater use, quality, and assessment and data

Groundwater assessment with links to our groundwater data system, and publications and technical resources.

So on this day, September 8

Protect Your Groundwater Day may not have all the bells and whistles of Thanksgiving or the December holidays. But groundwater is essential to our lives. The National Groundwater Association encourages you to use Sept. 8 to begin doing your part for protecting one of our most important natural resources. ACT: acknowledge, consider, and take action.

How and why we regulate the use of pesticides in water

By Sandy Howard, Water Quality Program communications manager

We know you care about the chemicals that may be finding their way into the environment.

Photo credit: Tristan Hervouet via freeimages

So do we.

That’s why we are focusing on identifying priority toxic chemicals and developing plans to reduce or eliminate their use, or to mitigate their impacts on people and the environment.

Our Water Quality Program has goals to prevent and reduce water pollution and to clean up polluted waters.

To make this work, we engage you to help protect and restore Washington’s lakes, rivers and marine waters.

Clean Water Act protections

When we come to work each day, our Water Quality Program compass is water quality – both in protecting high quality waters and cleaning up polluted waters.

The federal Clean Water Act and the state’s Water Pollution Control Act give us the basic structure of the regulatory programs we use to clean up and protect the health of our waters. And under the act, a water quality permit program is one of our key pollution gatekeepers.

Permits limit pollution

Under our Clean Water Act authorities, a water quality permit is a legal tool that authorizes and limits a pollution discharge.
For example, we permit discharges from large industrial facilities and we permit discharges from wastewater treatment plants. Our Clean Water Act permits allow the discharge of a limited amount of pollution and we recognize that the limited amount of pollution may have impacts. Our permits strive to minimize those impacts.

Protecting the benefits our waters provide

Some people may be surprised to know that both the Clean Water Act and state law allows the use of aquatic pesticides for the purpose of protecting the benefits that our waters provide.

Aquatic pesticides, when used carefully under a water quality permit, can protect water used for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes, and for livestock, shellfish harvesting, habitat, commerce and navigation, and boating.
Pesticides are used to control:

• disease-carrying mosquitoes
• weeds and algae in irrigation systems
• invasive and noxious weeds in parks and lakes
• non-native fish

By controlling mosquitoes, we protect public health from diseases. By controlling weeds and algae, we conserve water, protect public safety, and provide a benefit to agricultural production. By controlling noxious weeds, we help protect the environment, public health, and recreation.

Controlling noxious weeds

Twenty years ago, the Legislature clarified that we must allow the use of aquatic pesticides to control noxious weeds when the uses meet our stringent environmental protections.

With strategic and permitted use of aquatic pesticides, we have dramatically reduced infestations of the noxious weed Spartina from more than 9,000 acres in 2003 to around 8 acres today.

Pesticide regulation 101

Pesticides are registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which must follow federal pesticide laws. EPA’s lengthy registration process includes health and environmental studies that look at short-term, long-term, and indirect effects.

State law requires that pesticides used in Washington be registered by the state Department of Agriculture. WSDA reviews the EPA registration to determine if there are any state specific concerns, such as endangered species, or drinking water concerns. If there are concerns, WSDA may deny the registration and the pesticide may not be used in Washington. Or they may include it in the restricted-use category, which is the case for all aquatic labeled pesticides. To buy, sell or use aquatic labeled or other restricted use pesticides in Washington, you need to have a license from WSDA.

Pesticide labels

Pesticide labels provide important protections, too. EPA approves the labels and it is illegal to use a pesticide in a way that is inconsistent with the label. However, different manufacturers of the same pesticide may seek approval for different uses – resulting in different labels and therefore different approved uses for the same pesticide.

Before pesticides can be used in or near water, the label needs to specifically state it's OK.

Ecology provides third layer of environmental protection

Photo credit: Laurivo via freeimages

The Department of Ecology provides a third layer of regulation for the use of aquatic pesticides through a water quality permit.
Our state has a strong permitting program to carefully control and manage pesticide use in and around water.  Our program covers the water uses. It does not cover dry land, agricultural uses of pesticides.

Additional protections added by permit

When we consider issuing an aquatic pesticide permit, we evaluate and require environmental protections in addition to EPA and WSDA requirements. Additional conditions may include:

• when, where, how and the amount of aquatic pesticides can be applied
• specific monitoring and reporting to evaluate compliance

We also require public notification.

Aquatic pesticide permits contain restrictions, protections

Ecology’s pesticide permits contain a lot of detailed requirements. They set limits to the geographic area where the pesticide may be used. They set restrictions on the pesticides that may be used, opting for the least toxic products that are available. They require public notifications. They limit the timing of pesticide use to protect other plants or animals, such as young salmon. They require post-treatment monitoring to ensure the pesticide was applied correctly. Pesticide applicators must submit reports to us to show that permit requirements were met.

Permit process open to public

Our permitting process is open and transparent to the public. You can review draft permits and give us feedback at different times during our permit development process.  We receive important feedback from you that helps us shape a final permit.

Stay informed

We hope you find this information to be helpful. We invite you to sign up to receive our email notifications about aquatic pesticide permit applications in Washington.