Sewer system ratepayers can save millions based on task force recommendations

Community Partners Wastewater Task Committee recommends expanding the Tri-City plant in Oregon City to meet the county’s long-term sewage treatment capacity.

Sewer system customers in much of Clackamas County could save millions of dollars in system expansion costs over the next 20 years based on recommendations made June 3 by a special community task committee.
Members of the Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) reacted favorably this month as they endorsed the recommendations of the Community Partners Wastewater Task Committee, appointed earlier this year by the board. The group studied the benefits to ratepayers if wastewater treatment service districts in the county pooled their investment dollars.

"Under certain treatment capacity scenarios reviewed by the committee, as much as $300 million can be saved working and investing together through collaboration," said Commissioner Lynn Peterson, who served as a member of the committee.

"We are absolutely delighted about this new consensus for long-term strategies," added Peterson. "In the long run we believe that all of the ratepayers win, because diverse groups have come together for a common goal."

Committee members represented cities and sewage treatment districts in the urbanized portion of Clackamas County. Greg DeGrazia, a real estate broker, chaired the group and presented the committee's majority report today.

"This is a particularly tough issue for residents living in the north section of the county, so we really appreciate the fresh and careful perspective offered by this group as far as the needs of the district go," said Commissioner Bill Kennemer.

The recommendations set in motion a series of steps that will result in a formal, binding agreement among the partners by the end of the year.

Read full news release.

Water Environment Services
A Department of Clackamas County

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Oregon City Planning Commission OKs 20-year vision for Tri-City Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion

The Expanded Tri-City sewage treatment plant will be built on the old unlined Rossman landfill in Oregon City. Decomposed garbage will be dug up and placed in new cells with plastic liners to protect the groundwater.

What a night. The same evening of May 29 when the Community Partners Wastewater Task Committee agreed to a long-term sewage treatment plan, the Oregon City Planning Commission approved the conditional use application for expanding the Tri-City plant.
The Commission unanimously authorized a 20-year vision for the growth of the water pollution control plant, which serves the needs of the Tri-City Service District (Oregon City, Gladstone and West Linn.) It also will treat excess waste from North Clackamas County not processed by the Kellogg Creek Wastewater Treatment facility in Milwaukie. That makes Tri-City a vital part of the short-term (2010-2015) and long-term (2015-2035) capacity management plan.

In preparation for expansion, the District acquired the old Rossman Landfill property to the south of the Tri-City plant. Municipal garbage was buried on this site from 1960 through 1968. The proposal includes restoration of the site as public open space. The expansion plan will increase the capacity of the existing facilities by incorporating new technologies that will produce high quality treated water.

Read full story.

Construction update: New short videos detail expansion project starting this summer

Innovative membrane technology to be used at Tri-City cleans wastewater to such a high standard it could be used to water parks.

Innovation that improves water quality. Energy conservation. Turning an old landfill into public open spaces.
Those are just a few benefits of the short-term sewage system expansion project getting underway this summer. The project is detailed in five short videos just added to www.riverhealth.org, the Web site for Water Environment Services’ Capacity Management Program.
Known as Phase 1 of the Capacity Management Program, major work includes expansion of the Tri-City Service District sewage treatment plant in Oregon City to serve the Tri-City area – West Linn, Oregon City and Gladstone, as well as residents in the north county area served by Clackamas County Service District No. 1. New pipelines also will be constructed.

Here are short videos that tell the story:

Overview: Two-year project built in phases
Construction starts this summer to increase sewage treatment capacity for the Clackamas County Service District No. 1 (CCSD #1) by expanding the Tri-City plant in Oregon City, making efficiency upgrades to the Kellogg Creek facility in Milwaukie and building additional pipelines from North County to Tri-City. Video title: Tri-City

Innovation: New membrane technology cleans water to a higher standard
The Tri-City plant expansion includes new wastewater filtration technology known as membranes. The innovative approach cleans water that will be discharged into the Willamette River to a new high standard for the plant. Video title: Membrane

Energy conservation: New blower systems cut energy use by one-third
It takes a lot of electrical power to run a sewage treatment facility. New blower technology used to aerate wastewater will be installed for the Tri-City plant expansion. The equipment cuts projected energy consumption by one-third in the new section of the plant. Video title: Aeration

Reopening soon: Project renovates High Rocks (82nd Drive) Bridge
As part of the construction, a contract will be awarded soon for renovating the 82nd Drive Bridge between Gladstone and Oregon City. The span over the Clackamas River near High Rocks carries an essential pipeline connecting to the Tri-City plant. Pedestrians and cyclists are eager for the return of the bridge, which was closed because of a fire. Video title: High Rocks

Operations: How a treatment plant works
Here’s a quick overview on all the steps necessary to process sewage and what becomes of the treated materials. Video title: Treatment process

Hearings set for CCSD #1 bond financing for infrastructure improvements

To meet short-term sewage treatment needs, the Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners is expected to authorize bonds for small efficiency improvements at the Kellogg Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Milwaukie, as viewed from McLoughlin Boulevard, as well as a major expansion at the Tri-City plant in Oregon City.

The hearing is scheduled for: Date: July 07, 2008 Time: 6:30 p.m. Location: Public Service Building, 4th floor BCC Hearing Room at 2051 Kaen Rd in Oregon City.

The improvements are necessary as part of an agreement between the District and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The state agency told Clackamas County officials in late April that the North Clackamas County area must have an expanded sewage treatment system in place by 2010 or face monetary penalties. Read more about DEQ

Clackamas firm awarded bridge repair contract

June 26, 2008 – Repair work on the 82nd Drive Bridge over the Clackamas River near High Rocks is expected to start in late July or early August. The bridge will reopen for public use by the end of 2008.

A contract to rebuild fire-damaged portions of the structure was awarded to Mowat Construction of Clackamas on June 26 by the Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners. Bid price was $427,852, well below project estimates. The structure has been closed since 2006.

The bridge carries an essential pipeline linking North Clackamas County sewage to the Tri-City Wastewater Treatment Plant in Oregon City. It is part of the Phase 1 project to expand sewage treatment capacity for homes and businesses in Clackamas County Service District No. 1 (CCSD #1).

“I know we’re all looking forward to having the bridge open, because a number of people have commented to us that it’s a major pedestrian way that connects Gladstone to Oregon City,” says Ted Kyle, director of the County’s Capacity Management Program.

Read full story.

See video about the bridge

Clean water for wildlife

Dick Shook, Friends of Kellogg and Mt. Scott Creeks Watershed

The Friends of Kellogg and Mt. Scott Creeks Watershed try to educate the citizens of the county about the importance of our watershed and how it relates to the community. We try to inform them when developments occur, of the proper ways of developing and encourage them to be kind to the environment. The citizen’s committee for surface water advises CCSD #1 on citizens’ concerns regarding water quality and quantity. – Dick Shook

View the video