Councilors take a dive into wastewater

WHITE SALMON — With no business items on the agenda, White Salmon’s City Council meeting on Sept. 3 was brief and largely revolved around planned improvements to the Bingen Wastewater Treatment Plant, which serves both municipalities (see related story, page A5).

Jamin Ankney, an engineer with the consulting firm Gray & Osborne, walked through the phase one upgrades, the first — and most fundamental — of three project phases informed by Bingen’s amended Wastewater Facility Plan. About half of phase one is dedicated to overhauling electrical and control systems, or the plant’s “brain” that manages alarms and tracks data.

Both systems were installed 29 years ago, exceeding their useful life, according to Ankney. In fact, the plant’s current control platform was discontinued in 2021, making the process of acquiring replacement parts and implementing quick fixes much more challenging.

“That’s why Bingen has selected this project to be kind of a backbone of electrical improvements,” said Ankney. “From there, they can work out to everything else that needs to be done in the plant.”

The other half of phase one also addresses outdated equipment, but machinery directly involved in the treatment process. This includes the ultraviolet system, which eliminates disease-causing microorganisms through light exposure; the dewatering system that separates liquids from solid sludge; and other components necessary to ensure the facility is in compliance with state codes.

Washington’s Department of Ecology is financing the project through a $630,000 loan, and as the majority user, the City of White Salmon is responsible for paying off $490,000, plus interest. Project design is slated to begin at the end of this year and will likely take another year to complete. If everything, including environmental reviews, are approved, Ankney said the project could go out to bid in late 2026 or early 2027.

“With water, when there’s an issue, you can shut the valve off and live with it for a little bit while it gets fixed,” he said. “There’s no way to shut the wastewater off — it’s going to keep coming no matter what — so it requires a greater deal of reliability and redundancy.”

In other news, Chris True has assumed the mantle of public works director after Andrew Dirks stepped down from the position in early August, and City Planner Rowan Fairfield, a recent addition to city staff, hired an associate planner, Miryan Manjarrez-Hurtado, who will start work Oct. 1.

During her update to council, Mayor Marla Keether noted that Washington Gorge Action Program’s fourth annual El Grito event, a celebration of Hispanic heritage hosted in partnership with the city, is returning to Rheingarten Park on Sept. 14 from 3-6 p.m.

Now out of the summer months, White Salmon’s City Council has returned to its bi-monthly meeting schedule. The next meeting, beginning at 6 p.m., is on Sept. 17 in the White Salmon Fire Hall.