Address
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Description
Project Status
In Design or Study
Project Type
Sewer
Description
Greetings, Estacada residents! In our commitment to ensuring a cleaner and healthier environment, we'll be building a modern wastewater treatment plant. Recognizing the challenges posed by the aging and outdated technology of our current facility, this initiative is a crucial step towards addressing these issues head-on.
Why a New Wastewater Treatment Plant? The aging infrastructure of our current wastewater treatment plant has led to operational challenges and an inability to meet current discharge standards. To overcome these hurdles, we are embarking on the construction of a state-of-the-art facility that not only replaces outdated technology but exceeds current environmental standards.
Key Features of the New Wastewater Treatment Plant:
- Cutting-Edge Technology: Our new facility will embrace the latest advancements in wastewater treatment technology using membrane bioreactive (MBR) processing, ensuring more efficient and effective removal of pollutants and contaminants. This upgrade is vital to restoring the functionality of our treatment processes.
- Renewed Environmental Commitment: Estacada's beauty deserves preservation, and our new plant will emphasize sustainability. Through the incorporation of eco-friendly practices, energy-efficient systems, and responsible waste disposal methods, we aim to contribute to the overall health of the Clackamas River.
- Increased Capacity: Our new wastewater treatment plant is designed to accommodate increased capacity, supporting the growing needs of our community. This enhanced capability lays the foundation for economic development opportunities, attracting businesses and contributing to local prosperity.
- Recycled Effluent Capabilities: Embracing innovation, the new plant incorporates advanced systems for creating the cleanest possible effluent. This not only ensures responsible water management but also opens avenues for water reuse in various sectors, promoting sustainable practices and economic efficiency.
- Enhanced Odor Control: Addressing a longstanding concern, the new facility prioritizes advanced odor control measures. By investing in cutting-edge technologies, we aim to mitigate odors associated with wastewater treatment, creating a more pleasant environment for residents and supporting nearby economic activities.
- Project Goal: To build a facility which will process wastewater into the cleanest possible discharge, while accommodating growth for the next thirty years.
- What: We will build a Membrane Bioreactor Treatment Facility. This will not only be able to handle the next thirty years of growth, but will produce the best quality output (effluent) for watershed protection.
- Where: We will build on city owned property across the street from the current plant, taking up a portion of Portal Park.
- Cost: $42 Million
Estimated Timeline for Construction:
| Month | Year | Event |
|---|---|---|
| September | 2023 | Submit Predesign Report to DEQ |
| September | 2023 | 30% Design |
| May | 2024 | CM/GC Contractor Starts |
| September | 2024 | Pre-purchase equipment |
| October | 2024 | Early Site Work |
| February | 2025 | 100% Design |
| April | 2026 | Construction Completion |
City staff and Council have been working since 2021 to determine a location for the new plant to be built. View the Wastewater Facility Search Timeline (PDF).
Letter to our Residents
To our residents, property owners, and businesses,
It should be no surprise that we need a new wastewater treatment plant. We can smell it too.
Our current plant was built in 1963, and while we’ve worked to update it over the years, the main underlying technology is outdated and unable to process to the degree that is necessary to meet our discharge requirements…and get rid of the smell. Our staff working at the plant are trying their hardest, while working with seriously outdated technology, to remedy the smell.
We understand that there is concern that the developments are causing this issue. This issue existed prior to the new developments and would have required replacement regardless of the growth. The growth has pushed the timeline up though. Our engineers are monitoring the plant along with Oregon DEQ and will institute a construction moratorium if conditions reach a threshold. The state has stringent requirements for issuing a construction moratorium and we have not yet reached those requirements.
These new developments are paying a share of the cost. Every new development pays what’s called System Development Charges (SDCs) with every building permit issued. These SDCs are put into a fund to be spent on improvements to the systems. The way SDCs are calculated is that we take the cost of improvements and spread it across the users who will be impacting the system. This means that while developers are paying into these costs, residents who have lived here are expected to pay into it too. It’s not only the new residents who will be using the wastewater plant. Residents will pay into this cost with an increase in rates.
On the plus side, because of the growth there are more users to spread the cost across which decreases the individual bill. The original cost estimate for a new plant several years ago was around $26 million, at that time we expected the increase to a household bill to be around $45/month more. Since then, the cost to construct has risen significantly and we’re looking at a construction cost of $42 million, but because of the growth we still expect the rate for a household bill to go up around $40-45/month.
We understand that an increase of $45 a month on your sewer bill will be a hardship for many of our residents. We’ll work on incremental increases but expect to reach around $85-90/month for sewer in 2028.
We’re doing all we can to decrease costs and fundraise for the project. This includes some decisions which may have been unpopular such as locating the new plant between Timber Park and the Public Works shop. This decision alone saved around $8 million. We’ll be value engineering to find cost savings wherever possible. We’re also working hard to get grants for this project.
You can help us with these grants. Community members writing letters of support shows granting agencies that our community is concerned about the impact and supports our application for assistance. We've attached a digital letter of support below. If you feel that you would like to sign this letter you can print and return this with your signature, or we have an online version you can digitally sign https://www.cityofestacada.org/wastewater-letter-of-support/. We also appreciate any additional letters in your own words.
Thank you,
Elaina Turpin
Assistant City Manager
Wastewater Treatment Plant FAQs
Maybe. The MAO is a cooperative agreement and DEQ has some leeway to work with the City if we can prove that we're moving in a positive direction towards completing the new Wastewater Treatment Plant. The schedule to build the new plant is progressive with specific milestones which DEQ will be monitoring. If we are unable to meet milestones along the way, we would proactively approach DEQ to amend the MAO.
A moratorium, when related to land use, is when a city will not allow, or severely restrict, new building and/or land use permits and applications.
Oregon State Law, ORS 197.520, outlines the means in which a city can declare a moratorium.
No. The MAO has no impact on the ability to, or not to, place a moratorium on construction. The MAO outlines steps which the City will work with DEQ to remedy the process related issues with our current wastewater plant.
Estacada's effluent discharge had higher than permitted levels of ammonia, TSS, and BOD. The City has done work to the system to address some of the root causes of the TSS and BOD issues. These are often caused by a sudden increase in loading from heavy precipitation events and inflow and infiltration (I/I). The city has slip-lined pipes and manholes to prevent I/I. We've decreased the peak flow during these events by close to half.
However, our current plant does not have the technology to address ammonia. Our current plant is biologic, which means that the 'bugs' which process our wastewater can be upset or die off from a wide variety of stimuli such as an increase or decrease in temperature. DEQ recognizes that until a new facility is constructed that we will have occasions where we will violate our ammonia limits.
The MAO offers an abatement for violations as long as we follow the steps and timeline outline in the MAO. This abatement saves the city thousands of dollars in potential fines while we work to build the new plant.
MAO stands for Mutual Agreement and Order. This agreement between DEQ and the city is in additional to our National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Together they outline discharge limits, monitoring and reporting requirements, and timelines.
We calculate the capacity of our facilities when a property is annexed into the city. This can be confusing because there may be years between when a property is annexed in and when it’s developed. When the application comes in for residential annexation, based on the highest possible density of use for that property, we use our current usage data to calculate the increase per potential household for when the property is developed. This usage data is sent to our regional representative at DEQ to verify. Based on the calculations from city’s Engineer and DEQ, we can move an application forward if there is capacity. The state also allows a project to move forward if there is a high likelihood that capacity will be available within the next three years. State of Oregon Land Use regulations will not allow the City to deny an application unless we can prove that we do not have, and will not have in the near future, capacity.
That will be determined when the design is more refined. An initial layout of the facility showed the path being relocated closer to the property line.
Yes, the old wastewater plant will be completely decommissioned. That property will eventually be repurposed. The use of that property has not yet been fully considered. The use of the space will need to be decided upon, and then funds raised to build the space for this use.
The new facility will be built to meet the projected needs for the next 20 years, with capacity to add on additional equipment for longer term growth.
The location is chosen to be the lot that the city owns. We are too far along in the process to change locations. We evaluated building the WWTP on the Public Works shops and rebuilding the shops elsewhere on the same lot. This would add at least $5 million to the project cost. We evaluated moving the Public Works shops and building the WWTP on that location, this would add at least $8-10 million to the project cost.
The Council is allowed to discuss real estate transactions in an executive session, and the City Attorney was advising the City Council through the process so that they would follow any legal requirements. For the August 14, 2023, City Council Meeting, the Wastewater Treatment Plant discussion was an agenda item following executive session. If the Council had directed staff to begin negotiations on a property purchase, they would not have been able to discuss the location of the property that evening. The topic was listed as a general discussion on the agenda following the executive session, and there were members of the public who attended the meeting and commented.
You can view the meeting packet, minutes, and video where the Council discusses their decision here:https://www.cityofestacada.org/government/mayor-city-council/citycouncilagenda-minutes/
Following the executive session (which was not recorded) the City Attorney gives a thorough overview of the process and the decision. (approx. 1 hour 26 minutes into the meeting).
The original location for the wastewater facility in 2021 was on the Public Works/Portal site. At the direction of the Council, city staff have spent the past two years seeking out options for property where the wastewater facility could be built rather than on the City property, however, due to land use restrictions, costs, time constraints, and the availability of willing property sellers, the most viable location is the City property that was chosen.
The design showing in the preliminary plan (see page 135 of the Preliminary Design Report) just shows feasibility on the lot. While we are still in the process of layout, many of the processes require a specific layout with buildings set in a strategic position. We may adjust the layout but there are many variables which will ultimately decide the layout.
Status Updates
- 9/26/2023 - The City was awarded a grant from the State of Oregon in the amount of $2.4 million to assist with the cost of the new wastewater facility. View the Award Letter (PDF).
- 08/14/2023 - After much deliberation, the council chose to build the new wastewater treatment facilities on property already owned by the city. The new plant will be built off of Tulip Road in Estacada.
- 1/22/2024 - The city council accepted the finding of fact and is pursing an alternative delivery method. They authorized staff to develop and publish and RFP for a contractor.
- 2/20/2024 - RFP was published to solicit a CM/CG Contractor.
- 2/29/2024 - Mandatory Pre-Proposal Meeting was held for CM/GC Contractor.
- 3/22/2024 - Notice of Intent to Award CM/GC Contract to Slayden, Inc.