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Department of Ecology News Release - May 21, 2007
07-135
More of state's wastewater treatment plants achieve perfection
OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) will recognize 56 of
the state's 321 wastewater treatment plants - about one fifth of them - for
perfect performances in 2006 to keep Washington's waters clean.
The number is increasing, according to Ecology records. When the regulatory
agency began keeping track of perfect records starting in 1995, only 14 plants
were in full compliance with the requirements of their wastewater permits.
Representatives from Ecology will present "Outstanding Wastewater Treatment
Plant" awards to the plant operators at public events over the next couple of
months.
The awards honor operators of treatment plants that had no spills into
Washington's waters during 2006. Award winners also passed every environmental
test and analyzed all samples according to requirements laid out by Ecology.
"Operators of wastewater treatment plants are unsung heroes who provide vital
services behind the scenes that keep people and the environment healthy," said
Dave Peeler, who manages Ecology's water-quality program. "Their work never
stops, it never becomes unimportant, and it is a necessity for clean water in
Washington."
Wastewater treatment plants collect household sewage and industrial waste all
day, every day. They treat the sewage and then discharge clean, treated water
into waterways or spread the water onto land. Ecology issues permits that limit
the contaminants the plants may discharge into lakes, rivers or marine waters or
onto the ground.
Plant operators must follow the requirements of their state permits and
conduct up to thousands of water-quality monitoring tests during the course of a
year. They also must assure that no wastewater is spilled.
Ecology reviewed every treatment plant's tests, reports and on-site
inspections to determine which facilities met all conditions of their permits.
The Manchester wastewater treatment plant in Kitsap County is the only plant
in the state to have earned the award each of the 12 years since 1995. The Port
Townsend wastewater treatment plant in Jefferson County has earned the
distinction 11 times.
On the flip side, Ecology's 12-year record also indicates that 170 of the
state's plants have never achieved 100-percent compliance.
The 2006 award winners are:
- Asotin County - Asotin Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Benton County - City of Benton City Wastewater Treatment Plant*, City of West Richland Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Chelan County - City of Entiat Wastewater Treatment Plant*.
- Clark County - City of Vancouver Marine Park Treatment Facility, City of
Vancouver Westside Treatment Facility, City of Woodland Wastewater Treatment
Plant.
- Cowlitz County - City of Kalama Wastewater Treatment Plant*, Port of
Kalama Wastewater Treatment Plant*, Toutle Sewage Treatment Plant.
- Douglas County - Douglas County Sewer District No. 1 Wastewater
Treatment Plant*.
- Grant County - Ephrata Water Reuse Facility, George Wastewater Treatment
Plant*.
- Grays Harbor County - City of Ocean Shores Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Island County - Oak Harbor Wastewater Treatment Plant, Penn Cove
Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Jefferson County - City of Port Townsend Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Jefferson County - Olympic Corrections Center/Sewage Treatment Plant*.
- King County - Miller Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Kitsap County - Bremerton Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant, Central
Kitsap (Kitsap Co.) Wastewater Treatment Plant, Kingston (Kitsap Co.)
Wastewater Treatment Plant*, Manchester (Kitsap Co.) Wastewater Treatment
Plant.
- Klickitat County - Town of Bingen Wastewater Treatment Plant*, Community
of Lyle Wastewater Treatment Plant*.
- Lewis County - Lake Mayfield Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Okanogan County - City of Brewster Wastewater Treatment Plant*, City of
Okanogan Wastewater Treatment Plant, City of Omak Wastewater Treatment
Plant, City of Oroville Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Pacific County - City of Ilwaco Wastewater Treatment Plant*.
- Pend Oreille County - Cusick Wastewater Treatment Plant*.
- Pierce County - City of Eatonville Wastewater Treatment Plant, Gig
Harbor Wastewater Treatment Plant, City of Tacoma Wastewater Treatment Plant
#1, City of Tacoma Wastewater Treatment Plant #3*, Taylor Bay Wastewater
Treatment Plant, Washington Department of Corrections McNeil Island Sewage
Treatment Plant*.
- San Juan County - Eastsound Orcas Village Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Skagit County - Mount Vernon Wastewater Treatment Plant, Sedro-Woolley
Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Skamania County - City of North Bonneville Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Snohomish County - Edmonds Wastewater Treatment Plant, Lake Stevens
Sewer District Wastewater Treatment Plant, Marysville Wastewater Treatment
Plant*, Monroe Wastewater Treatment Plant, Stanwood Wastewater Treatment
Plant*.
- Spokane County - Liberty Lake Sewer & Water District 1.
- Whatcom County - Bellingham Wastewater Treatment Plant, Newhalem
Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Yakima County - Community of Buena Publicly Owned Treatment Works*, City
of Grandview Wastewater Treatment Plant, City of Moxee Wastewater Treatment
Plant, Town of Naches Wastewater Treatment Plant, Yakima Regional Wastewater
Treatment Plant*, City of Zillah Wastewater Treatment Plant*.
*=First-time award winner.
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Contact: Sandy Howard, public information manager, 360-407-6408
For more information:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/permits/index.html
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
