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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 1996
96-164
CONTACT:
Cal Ferguson (509) 625-5178
Jean Parodi (509) 456-6160
Mary Getchell (360) 407-6157
Ecology Issues the City of Colville and Pend Oreille Conservation District Grants to Improve Water Quality
SPOKANE, WA -- Local governments are working to protect and improve water quality in the city of Colville and Pend Oreille County. Recently the Washington State Department of Ecology issued two grants and a loan to improve water quality in those areas.
"The funding and technical assistance we provide to local governments are a great partnership approach toward making important environmental progress. Funding and assisting local community water quality projects is a primary goal of the Department of Ecology," said Mike Llewelyn, Ecology's Water Quality Program manager.
Ecology recently issued the city of Colville a Centennial Clean Water Fund construction grant and a State Revolving Fund construction loan, each in the amount of $143,000. Ecology is providing these funds to assist the city in its multi-phased reconstruction and rehabilitation program for upgrading the city's wastewater collection system. The primary purpose of upgrading the sewer system is to eliminate health and environmental problems caused by surcharged (pressurized) and overflowing sewers. The plan is to significantly reduce the amount of ground and storm water from getting into the sewer system's collection system.
The city's existing collection system consists of a combined storm water and sanitary sewer conveyance system which is in poor condition. Right now, when too much ground water and storm water get into the sewer collection system, it causes sewage backups and overloading of the wastewater treatment plant. When there is heavy rainfall in the community, the treatment plant can't handle all of the flow which results in the potential of discharging inadequately treated sewage to the Colville River.
The grant and loan funds will be used to construct one phase of the city's collection system rehabilitation program. In this phase, workers will put in a storm sewer to separate storm water from the sanitary sewage and replace deteriorated segments of an existing sanitary sewer.
This year Ecology issued $36 million of grants and loans to local governments. The Centennial Clean Water Fund and the State Revolving Fund provide money to help local governments improve and protect water quality.
In addition the Pend Oreille Conservation District is getting a $150,760 grant to do educational activities to set priorities for addressing nonpoint pollution problems. Nonpoint pollution comes from sources such as storm water runoff, agricultural and logging practices and failing septic systems.
The Pend Oreille Conservation District grant is a federal Clean Water Act Section 319 grant. Ecology administers Washington state's Section 319 Nonpoint Source Program. This year Ecology issued $1.4 million in grants through the program.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
