PORT ANGELES — Final tests are being run on a new water treatment plant on the Elwha River that will serve Port Angeles residents when two dams on the river are removed.
The plant will treat 2 million to 7 million gallons of water daily, said Glenn Cutler, city public works director, to a business group Monday.
Cutler spoke to a Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce lunch audience of about 75 people about the process the water goes through before reaching consumers.
He said when the Elwha River dams are removed, the groundwater the city taps into will inevitably be affected.
No difference
The water treatment plant will prevent impurities from being passed on to customers, he said.
“By the time it comes out of the faucet, people will not notice a difference from right now,” Cutler said.
“That is why the treatment plant was constructed.”
The Elwha and Glines Canyon dams are slated for removal beginning in 2011 as part of a $308 million project to restore the Elwha River to its natural state.
The water treatment plant must be fully operational before then.
Completed in December, the plant currently is undergoing its final testing before entering full operation.
Dam removal
The dam removal — the largest-ever such project in the country and the largest National Park Service restoration project except for the revival of the Florida Everglades — is expected to restore salmon habitat to the river.
The Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992 called for government acquisition of the dams for their eventual removal.
The Port Angeles water that consumers use is drawn from beneath the river — but tests have shown that it is too similar to surface water and undergoes various purification processes, said City Engineer Steve Sperr to the chamber audience.
When the water first enters the new plant, it will be hit with sand — which will bind to some of the impurities and pull them to the bottom, he said.
“By the time [the water] gets out of that first section it will be clear,” he said.
The sand removes color impurities.
The water then passes through a portion where it is hit with chlorine gas to kill any bacteria, fluoride for dental care and several agents that help with purity as well as pH balance, he said.
Sediment filter
Then the water goes through a filter with physical barriers to hold back any more sediments that might be in the water.
Another portion of the draw — industrial water — is sent directly to the Nippon Paper Industries USA mill for manufacturing purposes.
“That water is just for manufacturing and is basically just like the river water without the fish,” Cutler said.
He added that he believed city residents had a good deal for their money.
“Regular gas fuel is about $2.81 per gallon; bottled water is $1 to $4 per gallon,” he said.
“The city water supply is eight-tenths of a cent per gallon.”
He said the water will be similar in content to what often comes in bottles.
“People pay big bucks for glacier-fed water,” he said.
“And that is exactly what this is.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
