The City Council and citizens of Hermiston had an opportunity again to hear from our consulting engineers on the process and issues that have led us to the current plan for a new wastewater/recycled water project to replace our aging and out of date treatment facility.  The Council asked Al Shewey of Kennedy Jenks Engineer and Scientist Consultants and Brad Bogus of Tetra Tech, Inc. both of whom have been involved with the research and development of plans on this project from the very beginning to address the council.

Although this review process had been conducted at previous council meetings we felt that as we near the actual culmination of planning and move very soon to design and construction bidding it would be appropriate to present this information again in a public forum.  As Mayor Bob Severson said, "this will give us the ability to look to the future.  With the assurance that we will be able to meet current and future regulatory issues this will allow Hermiston to stay ahead of the curve."

Mr, Shewey discussed the issues that led to the selection of the filtration system for the discharge of recycled water from the plant.  Issues of concern included the fact that the City=s current plant is close to not being able to meet discharge regulations and will soon be at a point that they may be subject to discharge violations and resulting fines.  Because of the issues that are of concern for management of the Umatilla River, DEQ regulations are some of the strictest in the United States due to temperature and ammonia concerns.  Because of those issues the highest possible discharge quality was needed with unquestioned reliability with the ability to provide the greatest discharge flexibility.  Shewey also discussed the discharge options that had been studied and why they led to the finalized plan.  Discharge to the Umatilla River is limited by temperature constraints that make the river an option only in the Winter months.  Piping it to the Columbia River and its resulting regulatory issues made it far too costly.  Subsurface discharge is again restricted to spring and fall seasons only and piping it to a single farm carries several issues including cost, risk and permit issues.  After a thorough review the consultants felt discharge to the Westland Irrigation District offered the most effective and long term solution and filtration was the best system to meet quality and regulatory demands.

Rate comparison

Mr Shewey and Mr Bogus also reviewed the latest rate data that was available from the Oregon League of Cities comparing the rates from 18 comparable communities in Oregon.  The results of that review indicated that Hermiston's existing water utility rate is currently the lowest of the 18 communities, the residential sewer rate is the second lowest of the 18 and the combined sewer/water rates tied for the lowest with the city of Klamath Falls.

Attached is a copy of the slide presentation prepared by Shewey/Bogus for the Council Meeting.