PORT HADLOCK — A consulting group working for Jefferson County to establish plans for a Tri-Area sewer system says hooking up would cost between $22,000 and $90,000 per household — depending on the amount of units hooked to the sewer — over a 20-year period.
Seattle-based Tetra Tech/KCM, working under a $424,110 county contract, delivered this news to an audience of about 40 at a public workshop at Jefferson County Public Library on Wednesday.
“By the year 2030, we’re assuming everyone will be off their septic tank and using the sewer,” said Kevin Dour, senior project manager of Tetra Tech/KCM.
The initial cost is expected to be around $30 million to get the sewer up and running.
Once it has been built out in entirety, it will come with a price tag of about $85 million.
Many in the audience were outraged, but representatives of Tetra Tech/KCM reiterated that the costs are only preliminary and various options such as grants would be explored to lessen the cost to residents.
Landowners’ fears
Some at the workshop who own large amounts of land in the Tri-Area figured out loud that they would be paying approximately $1.5 million over 20 years to hook up to the sewer.
Recommended Wednesday was a gravity sewer system as opposed to one with pumping stations.
A gravity system has a high initial implementation cost — about $8 million — because pipes often must be dug deep beneath the ground to allow for a down-slope to let gravity take over, the audience was told.
Dour said the gravity system has proven reliability, lowest operations and maintenance cost, and requires no septic tank.
Another option offered was a pressure system where sewage is deposited from a residence into a septic tank and moved through the pipes through a vacuum system.
Dour said technically, a gravity system is preferred.
Treatment method
The treatment method recommended was a membrane system, which is relatively new technology and very innovative, Dour said.
It acts to filter the waste from the water and offers appropriate odor control and aesthetics.
Various sites were considered for the treatment plant. Dour said the one being recommended is on county-owned land near the Sheriff’s Office in Port Hadlock.
