The City of Sweet Home is inviting community members to tour the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The city is planning to begin major construction and upgrades at the plant, with a new screenings process aeration basin upgrades, secondary clarifier improvements, bio-solids improvements, outfall improvement, an increase in capacity and other miscellaneous improvements as identified in the Sweet Home Wastewater Facilities Plan.
This project includes the replacement and upgrade of plant equipment that has exceeded its useful life. The project is intended to improve plant reliability and provide greater flexibility in the plant’s operation and maintenance.
The city offers tours for community members who wish to learn about the Sweet Home Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvement Project. If you would like to tour the WWTP, please contact the City Manager’s Office at (541) 367-8969 or email Administrative Assistant Julie Fisher at [email protected].
Scheduled tours of the plant, located at 1357 Pleasant Valley Road, are 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 13, Dec. 14, Jan. 10 and Jan. 11.
The city’s wastewater collection system and the Treatment Plant serve a population of approximately 9,100 residents. The plant was constructed and placed into service in 1947. The city made treatment plant improvements in 1974, and again in 1994.
In January 2001 the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality entered into a mutual agreement and order (MAO) with the city to resolve ongoing wastewater system overflows and discharge violations at the plant’s outfall point due to heavier flows into the plant.
As a result, the city contracted with Brown and Caldwell to develop the 2002 Wastewater Facility Plan. The plan quantified wet weather capacity deficiencies and evaluated alternatives for inflow and infiltration (I&I) reduction for the entire wastewater collection system. The City invested approximately $15 million over 10 years for sewer rehabilitation projects to address specific I&I deficiencies throughout the collection system.
In May 2015, DEQ notified the city that it had complied with the terms of the MAO due to sewer rehabilitation efforts from 2003 through 2012. In spring 2017, the plant had several violations for total suspended solids (TSS) and E. coli during heavier wet weather events. DEQ issued an enforcement letter to the city in June 2017 for exceedance of TSS and E. coli limitations.
In August 2017, the DEQ held an enforcement meeting with city staff to discuss options for continued compliance. As discussed in the enforcement meeting, staff solicited proposals from engineering firm to prepare design drawings and specifications for improvements to the city’s plant. Staff is currently researching funding options to financially support the design and construction of the Treatment Plant improvements.
The root cause of the violations are compounded by two factors, the age of infrastructure, which is beyond its useful life, and a change in wastewater volume and characteristics after initial construction.
Since initial construction, there is now a steady stream of flushable materials on the markets which cause a build-up of trash/material throughout the treatment process.