PORT ANGELES — Construction of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe’s first sewer system is well under way.
Crews began installing the sewer line, which will connect with the city of Port Angeles’ wastewater system, along a portion of the Olympic Discovery Trail late last month and have also begun installing pipes on the north end of the reservation, said Tom Belcher, project manager for Atkins Global Construction Firm.
Reopened in August
The construction has left the trail between 18th Street and the Dry Creek bridge closed to the public. It should be reopened by mid-August, Belcher said.
The tribe is being connected to the city’s sewer system as part of the Elwha River restoration effort.
Groundwater in the low-lying community is expected to rise when the river’s two dams are removed in about three years in a project that will begin in mid-September.
That will in turn leave many of the tribe’s septic tanks unusable, the National Park Service, which is heading the $325 million river restoration project, has said.
$2.25 million project
The Park Service has budgeted $2.25 million for the sewer project.
Traffic will be affected until the project is finished in late June, but no full road closures are expected, Belcher said.
“We’re just trying to keep the roads open and safe to pass,” he said.
In total, the sewer will replace 110 septic tanks and consist of 39,500 feet of pipe.
The sewer line will run along Stratton Road, along the new Lower Elwha access road under construction, to Kacee Way, which it will follow until it reaches the Dry Creek bridge.
Work on that section is expected to start sometime this summer, Belcher said.
The new sewer system is the reason why the city recently built a new stormwater pipe under First Street.
That pipe removed stormwater from the city’s sewer system and was intended to offset the contribution of effluent from the tribe. The Park Service also paid for that project.
Dismantling of the Elwha Dam and Glines Canyon Dam is expected to cost $27 million.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
