Agenda - 04/19/1994 Workshop1)
2)
3)
4)
Workshop meeting opened
Update and Overall Prospective - Frank Tiwari (10-15 min)
A. Process necessary for Treatment Plant construction
B.
5)
6) Adjourn
Time line for process:
-- Approximate schedule for entire process
-- Time line for Facilities Plan process only
How Wastewater Advisory Committee is helping the final decision makers.
Bid picture alternative, future policy decision on funding and affect of regional
services study on alternative and funding.
Big Picture Alternatives - Daria Wightman, CH2M Hill (1.25 hr)
A. Introduction
B. Study process and schedule
C. Recommendations
D. Alternatives analyzed
Open House format prepared by Barbara Lucas for Public input on June 6, 1994 (10-
15 min)
Council direction to Staff on improving information on Woodburn's process
~r~DVN, AGEN4.19
Planning for Woodburn's
Wastewater Treatment Facilities
Introduction
The City of Woodburn is preparing the facilities plan for its wastewater treatmenf sys-
tem. A facilities plan defines the steps that the City should take to meet its future needs
for wastewater treatment. It is the result of a planning process that looks at many
possibilities, considers the advantages and disadvantages of each, and identifies the
system that can most benefit th~.community. Once the plan is adopted by the City, it
will guide operations and improvements to the City's wastewater treatment system
through the year 2020.
Improvements to the City's system are needed to meet new water quality regulations
established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Oregon Depart-
ment of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and to protect against citizen lawsuits. These
regulations designate wastewater treatment and discharge standards that must be met to
protect the Pudding River and other bodies of water that receive treated wastewater. The
City's current system will .complete its 20-year design life in the year 2000 and it will
not be able to meet these stringent new standards or the projected growth requirements of
the City.
In addition to upgrading the existing system to meet regulatory requirements, the facili-
ties plan will provide for' increasing the system's capacity in order to accommodate
planned growth in the City. Preparing now for both of these purposes is an efficient and
cost-effective planning approach. The plan will enable the City to look ahead to long-
term needs through the year 2020.
The City of Woodburn is committed to providing its citizens with a system that is envi-
ronmentally responsible and cost-effective. Public review and comment is an essential
part of the planning process. A number of possible systems are being considered for
meeting the City's treatment needs. Optional new technology and mitigation measures
can also provide additional advantages, such as reduced odor and noise impacts in the
plant vicinity. All of these alternatives have cost and benefits that must be carefully
weighed. We welcome your participation in making these decisions.
The Study Process and Schedule
The City of Woodburn has hired CH2M HILL, an engineering and envirOnmental
consulting firm, to help prepare the facilities plan. The planning process has the follow-
ing basic steps:
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1. Define future wastewater treatment needs, based on population and wastewater
projections and on regulatory requirements.
2. Identify alternative treatment systems that can meet these needs.
3. Evaluate the alternatives on the basis of cost, environmental impacts, ability to
construct and operate, and other advantages/disadvantages. _
4. Select the best treatment system for more detailed analysis, and develop .a facili-
ties plan.
5. Conduct a financial analysis to determine who pays for the improvements and
how.
The planning process is currently in the third step: evaluation of the alternatives. All
public comments will be considered in selecting the alternatives that will be carried
forward for further analysis. The draft facilities plan is anticipated to be available for
public review by November 1994.
Recommendations
The Wastewater Advisory Committee evaluated the treatment plant siting alternatives and
the tertiary treatment and effluent disposal options (see Figures 1 through 3). The
consensus of the committee was to recommend the following big-picture alternative with
two di _sposal optiOns for further development and analysis:
Issue
Treatment Plant Site
Alternative
Alternative I-Upgrade and Expand Existing Plant
Tertiary Treatment Mechanical Filtration
Effluent Disposal during the
Summer
Effluent Disposal during the
Winter
Option A-Discharge to the Pudding River, with 88-
acre storage lagoon for July and August
Option B-Irrigation at Agronomic Application Rates
for May through October, with 58-acre storage
lagoon and 300 acres irrigable land
Discharge to Pudding River
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Treatment Plant Site
Upgrading and expanding the existing plant (Alternative I) was the preferred treatment
plant siting alternative because of costs and practicality. The other siting alternatives
were shown to have many disadvantages. For instance, adding a second, parallel treat-
ment plant to the Same site (Alternative II) would require additional pumping for separate
treatment of industrial flows. Retaining the existing plant and building a separate.plant at
a new site (Alternative III) would require new pumping facilities for sludge and industrial
flows, a new force main, and another effluent pipeline. Furthermore, operations and
maintenance of two sites would be less efficient than for one. Abandonment of the
existing plant and building a new plant at a new site (Alternative IV) would mean losing
the value of the existing plant and would entail dismantling the eXisting facilities and
restoring the site to farmland at a significant cost. Moreover, the siting of a new plant
would likely face public opposition.
Tertiary Treatment
Mechanical filtration was found to be a better tertiary treatment option in this case than
wetland treatment. A wetland treatment system would be approximately 50 percent more
expensive because of land costs and the cost of a lining for the wetland (which is
required by DEQ) without significant added benefit. Uncertainties regarding long-term
permitting for control of the wetlands as a treatment facility and concerns about possible
effects on the groundwater (City of Woodburn's main drinking water source) also make
this a less attractive option.
Mechanical filtration is a more reliable treatment process and the capacity of a filtration
facility can be increased more easily. It is estimated to be the least expensive alterna-
five. The operations staff preferred mechanical filtration.
Effluent Disposal during the Summer
Pudding River and Storage. With mechanical filtration provided, the effluent can be
discharged to the Pudding River during May, June, September, and October of the
summer period. During July and August of each year, when the effluent ammonia
requirements pre. elude discharge to the Pudding River, the effluent would be stored in an
88-acre lagoon.
Irrigation at Agronomic Application Rates. Agricultural irrigation was selected as
another viable alternative for disposal of treatment plant effluent during the summer
period. This alternative provides nutrient rich water for irrigation in the area at a time
when water is becoming a scarce and valuable resource. A 58-acre storage lagoon would
be required to store effluent, assuming roughly 300 acres of land are available for
irrigation during July and August. Filtration would be required for disposal of excess
wastewater to the Pudding River during the other summer months.
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Other Alternatives. The other summer disposal alternatives considered-discharge to
the Willamette River and a 5-month-capacity storage lagoon-were seen to be too costly.
Effluent Disposal during the Winter
Because the DEQ effluent requirements for the winter period are less stringent, it will be
possible to discharge to the Pudding River with minor modifications to the current
treatment processes, upgraded and expanded as necessary to replace aging components
and meet new capacity needs.
Costs
Cost opinions were developed based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
industry guidelines. The costs were further adjusted to reflect recent local projects such
as wastewater facilities for the City of McMinnville, Oregon. The' costs are
comparative and not to be used for budgetary purposes.
The present worth cost in 1997 dollars for Option A-Summer Effluent Disposal to
Pudding River and Storage was estimated to be $53,300,000. For Option B-Summer
Effluent Disposal to Irrigation it was estimated to be $55,850,000. These present worth
costs are within 15 percent of each other, and, therefore, are not considered by EPA to
be significantly different. The non-cost analyses need to be considered in the selection
process. The range of costs for all the alternatives was from $55,300,000 to
$92,335,000.
Public Review and Comment
The City of Woodburn would like to hear public comments on the alternatives now under
consideration to help decide which should be carded forward for further study. An open
house will be held for this purpose on June 6, 1994. A Public Hearing will be held on
November 15, 1994, to hear public comment on the draft facilities plan. The public will
be notified, and additional information about the project will be available before this
meeting.
If you would like more information or have any comments about the facilities plan,
please call Frank Sinclair, Woodburn Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent, at
982-5281.
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~8~
0 ~
. APPENDIX
Cost Opinions-
The costs were developed based on EPA's 'Innovative and Alternative Technol~Ass~.ment
Manual,' dated Febnm~. 1980,.and CH2M HILL's preid0us pwjects. The HPA costs were
~djusted to 1994 doll~r~ to.xe/lect construclion and O&M costs (adjustcd with EI~ Indcx only)
in thc industry. These costs may have an accuracy in the range of-30 to +50 pe~.aL The~
costs ax~ comparalive and aot ~o be used for budgelary puxposes. The Ehg/neer/ig News
(ENR .- Seattle) index used was//630 (1st quarter 1994 dollars). These costs were.tim her
adjusted ~o v~/lect recent local projects such as McM'ranville., Oregon. A ~t worth (PW)
value for O&M costs (obtained from adjusted EPA cost curves) ,gas obtained by multiplyi~
annual O&M costs by a PW factor based on an interest rate of 8-?/8 pezce~t and a lime period
of 20 years.
The costs are updated to February 1997 dollars assuming 4.5 percent coml~ound escnlafion.
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