Sewer District breaks ground on new plant

Lake Stevens will soon have state of the art ecology technology PAM STEVENS | EDITOR Meeting the needs of a growing community and the more stringent effluent limits set by the Department of Ecology has been a top priority for the Lake Stevens Sewer District. After years of planning the Sewer District broke ground on their new Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) off of Sunnyside Blvd. and SR-204 last Saturday, March 21 in front of a crowd of supporters, staff and dignitaries from both the City and State.

Holding their gold shovels, Sewer District General Manager Darwin Smith, along with Sewer Commissioners Jim Mitchell, George Wood and Jack Hatlan and other supporters of the new plant, broke ground on the multi-million dollar project that will be completed in 2012.
“This is a culmination of over 20 years of planning, not only for Lake Stevens but on behalf of the entire Puget Sound,” Sewer Commission President George Wood said. “We have to get serious about cleaning up Puget Sound.”

The new facility will not only bring the Lake Stevens District up to DOE standards but it will exceed those standards and create cleaner water. Currently, the WWTP sits in a flood plain on the east bank of Ebey Slough where is creates a risk to the environment.

After years of research it became evident that building a new plant, outside of the flood plain, would be the most cost effective approach. A new plant would also meet more stringent effluent criteria and use more modern technologies to meet those criteria.

Kudos were given to both the Sewer District and the City of Lake Stevens, who signed an inter-local agreement that provides for the district to operate the sewer systems. Working together has provided opportunities for both to receive low interest loans through the Public Works Trust

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