Spokane County Utilities provides wastewater management for residential,
commercial and industrial customers in the Spokane Valley and North
Spokane service areas. In recent years, the County has rapidly expanded
its wastewater collection system to reduce the number of septic tanks
located over the Spokane Aquifer. This sewer expansion program is
projected to continue through the year 2015 to provide wastewater
service to all existing development within the County’s sewer service
area. Along with the sewer system extensions, the County’s sewer
service area is projected to experience significant growth over the next
twenty years to meet Growth Management requirements. Both factors will
sharply increase the quantity of wastewater that must be responsibly
managed.
Currently, wastewater generated in the County is sent, via a network of
pipes, to the Spokane Advanced Treatment Plant (SAWTP) which is owned
and operated by the City of Spokane. A 1980 inter-local agreement
established the basis for the City to treat up to 10 million gallons per
day of County generated wastewater. The County expects to exceed that
capacity by the end of 2007. Due to physical, environmental and
implementation constraints, additional capacity at the SAWTP may not be
available for use by the County, or may be insufficient for the County’s
long-term needs.
Given this situation, the County has begun a planning process to develop
long-term wastewater management strategies that will provide reliable
service, protect the environment and be economical to local ratepayers.
In so doing, the County will integrate its planning with other regional
service providers to identify opportunities for increased efficiency or
enhanced benefit to the watershed. Balanced with these considerations
is the County’s need for solutions that can be reliably implemented
should regional or intergovernmental approaches prove too difficult,
expensive or slow.
This document establishes the “basis of planning” that provides the
foundation for subsequent identification, evaluation and selection of
appropriate wastewater management strategies. It identifies the goals
and objectives of the planning process, describes the current
characteristics of the planning area, projects future wastewater flows
and loadings, defines key water quality and water resource issues,
reviews the capabilities of existing wastewater systems, and presents
insight into the values and concerns of interested stakeholders.
At the outset of the planning process, the following goals were
established to guide development of a successful wastewater management
program for Spokane County:
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Provide reliable wastewater service – both near-term
(20-years) and long-term (50-years)
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Protect public health
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Protect and improve the region’s water resources – surface
water and groundwater
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Provide cost-effective solutions for County ratepayers
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Provide for growth in concurrence with the Growth
Management Act
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Ensure the County has adequate authority and control to
meet future wastewater needs
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Gain approval by the public, elected officials and
regulatory agencies
The project team also identified a range of project objectives. The
objectives describe specific measures of success used to guide the
project and gauge its outcome.
Stakeholders
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Identify “Stakeholders” who have a significant interest in
Spokane County’s wastewater management program.
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Satisfy stakeholders’ expectations for results by keeping
rates competitive and reasonable, providing environmental stewardship,
and delivering quality service to current and future customers.
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Actively seek and incorporate public input.
Long-Term Solutions
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Provide long-term planning to better ensure the long-term
feasibility of wastewater management strategies and to allow planning
for future infrastructure, programmatic and land acquisition activities.
Near-Term Capacity Requirement
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Ensure the recommended solution can be constructed and
on-line in time to meet near-term capacity requirements.
Regulatory Compliance
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Work with regulators to define current requirements and
foreseeable future changes to regulations.
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Meet or exceed all anticipated air and water quality
standards.
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Provide flexibility to accommodate potential future
changes to regulations.
Aquifer Protection
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Facilitate completion of the septic tank elimination
program.
Augment or Conserve Water Resources
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Objectively consider strategies to reduce wastewater
generation such as water conservation or waste minimization.
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Pursue opportunities to augment regional water resources
through reuse, streamflow augmentation or groundwater recharge where
these approaches are found to be cost-effective, environmentally sound
and acceptable to the public.
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Educate the public about the value of water conservation.
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Educate the public about the value of reclaimed water as
an alternative water supply.
Regional Perspective
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Negotiate a new, mutually beneficial interlocal agreement
with the City of Spokane for future wastewater management activities.
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Consider and encourage regional approaches to wastewater
management in terms of infrastructure, institutional arrangements and
resource sharing.
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Coordinate with other regional service providers.
Comprehensive Strategies
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Develop comprehensive wastewater management strategies
that consider source controls, collection and treatment infrastructure,
reuse or disposal techniques, biosolids management, and institutional
arrangements.
Neighbors
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If new facilities are recommended, consider the impacts of
noise, odor, traffic, lighting and other impacts to surrounding
neighborhoods and businesses.
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Incorporate appropriate measures to ensure compatibility
of new facilities with surrounding development.
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Incorporate neighborhood enhancements, whenever possible.
Facilities Plan Approval
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Meet State requirements for an Engineering Report and
Federal requirements for a Facilities Plan.
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Gain regulatory approvals needed to allow the County to
qualify for available grants or loans.
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Gain approval by the Planning Commission and the Board of
County Commissioners.
Meet Schedule and Budget
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Complete all elements of the facilities plan on time and
within budget.
Overall planning for the Spokane County wastewater program is divided
into the five major elements shown in Figure 1‑1.
Figure 1‑1. Major Planning Components
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Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan (CWMP) Update.
This document is being prepared under a separate contract by Engineering
and Economic Services, and is intended to meet the State’s requirements
for a General Sewer Plan. Key elements of the plan are the development
of population and land use forecasts; projections of average wastewater
flow rates; discussion of regional wastewater issues; definition of
collection system requirements to eliminate septic tanks and serve the
designated planning area; and review of financing strategies. The
report primarily focuses on collection system requirements, deferring
development of treatment and reuse/disposal strategies to the Wastewater
Facilities Plan. The demographic and flow projections developed in the
CWMP Update serve as the basis for the flow and loading projections
presented in the Basis of Planning Report.
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Basis of Planning Report. The Basis of Planning
Report establishes the planning criteria for subsequent development and
evaluation of wastewater management strategies. Two key areas of focus
are 1) flow and loading projections and 2) anticipated effluent quality
requirements for various reuse and disposal scenarios. The report also
describes the characteristic of the planning area in terms of natural
setting, human environment, wastewater infrastructure and public values.
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County/City Negotiations. A key element of the
planning process is the development of a new interlocal agreement to
supersede the agreement developed in 1980 and adjusted through multiple
amendments. Key areas of focus will be the future allocation of
capacity at the SAWTP and within the City’s conveyance system,
methodologies for equitable cost sharing, and the responsibilities and
rights of the City and County.
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Wastewater Facilities Plan. In the Wastewater
Facilities Plan, potential wastewater management strategies will be
identified and subjected to a rigorous evaluation and screening
process. Based on the results of this evaluation, including input from
stakeholders, a recommended plan will be developed to meet near-term (20
year) and long-term (50 year) needs. An implementation plan will be
developed, including definition of financial requirements.
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Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
A programmatic EIS will be developed in parallel with the Wastewater
Facilities Plan to ensure that the evaluation of alternatives and
selection of recommended program elements fully consider potential
environmental impacts and benefits, and incorporate appropriate measures
to mitigate foreseeable adverse impacts. A successful EIS will
facilitate subsequent implementation of the recommended plan.
Various public involvement opportunities will be offered during the
overall planning process to inform the public, regulatory agencies and
stakeholders about the project, identify community issues of concern,
and provide information to the project team that will help them develop
recommendations that the community supports. Some of the public
information and involvement opportunities that will be offered or
conducted include:
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Interviews of community stakeholders to assist in
understanding community issues early in the project.
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A series of updates or fact sheets that provide
information on the planning process and the alternatives and
recommendations being considered.
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Presentations to community groups.
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A series of public meetings during the planning process to
gather public comments.
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Meetings with community stakeholders at key points during
the planning process to gather comments.
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Information on wastewater treatment and water quality
presented at various community forums.
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Requests to the media to present information on wastewater
treatment and water quality issues.
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A series of inter-agency symposiums at key milestones in
the planning process to present concepts, gain feedback and promote
dialogue amongst potentially competing interests.
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Formal public hearings at the outset of the EIS process
and during adoption of the Wastewater Facilities Plan and EIS.
