By Mai Ling Slaughter, The Chronicle, 4/7/99
PE ELL - After a winter of water problems, Pe Ell may soon be riding the waves of good fortune.
Although the money has not yet been approved, more than $3 million in loans and grants may be designated toward repairing the town's water treatment facility. Mayor John Penberth announced the news at the town council meeting Tuesday night to an audience including about 20 citizens.
The money would come in the form of a $500,000 loan, which is a necessary step to provide the town with grants for $1.5 million, $320,000 and $750,000.
The town is still $250,000 in debt from its current water treatment facility, built in 1971. This time, Penberth said, he does not want to leave the future generations of Pe Ell with a loan for a facility that is no longer functioning.
Pe Ell residents have been forced to boil their water since April 1998, and there is a moratorium for water and sewer hookups.
The winter's problems began when the town's main water line from Lester Creek was damaged, and Pe Ell was forced to use water from the Chehalis River.
But water from the river was full of silt and debris at the time, clogging the intake and forcing residents to draw from the reservoir, and to heavily conserve water.
''I think that what people have to realize is that we have a crisis here, and we have to work together if we want to be able to flush our toilets and drink our water,'' said Joyce Estus, a spokeswoman for the Small Towns Environmental Project.
On Jan. 1, water and sewer rates each increased $5.50 a month.
The $500,000 loan alone would boost water costs an additional $8 a month. Each household pays a basic rate of $59.63 every two months.
''If (the increases) come in large chunks,'' said Dennis Harmon of STEP, ''nobody will be able to afford it.''
The town council has not decided when it would include the increase to water bills, although the town would not have to begin repayment of the 40-year loan for about three years.
If the council votes to accept the loan and grant package, and if the money is received, the town may request more funding when the $2.57 million is gone, if it is not completed with its project.
''You've shown the regulators and funders that this town is serious about fixing its problems,'' said Cathi Reed, who has been working with Pe Ell since summer 1998. ''They saw demonstrated commitment from the community to try to lower the cost.''
Reed, program developer with the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, explained that the grant and loan package is intended for only for the water treatment facility.
Planned work on the facility includes: a pilot plant study; the reconstruction of the raw water transmission line; the design and construction of the water treatment plant; and some water line replacement done by STEP volunteers. Estus said the town would save approximately 56 percent by using STEP volunteers.
Gray and Osborne Inc., the engineering consultants for the water treatment and wastewater facilities, suggested three options for a new water treatment facility, each treating approximately 350 gallons of water a minute - enough for 200 to 300 residents. Its recommended option was estimated at roughly $1.5 million, and the other two would cost about $1 million, said chemical engineer Art Griffith.
The recommended facility includes a membrane filter, rather than the typical sand filter used in the other options. Griffith said this would be more effective if the town were forced to use the Chehalis River again, because the holes through which the water is filtered would not clog with silt.
The membrane filter is also ideal, Griffith said, because chemicals must not be added to treat the system, as is necessary with the other options. This also decreases the amount of time an operator must be present.
To test the systems, Griffith suggests using a pilot plant for a year to find whether the specific model is effective for the town. He said it is important the plant is able to treat Lester Creek, as well as the Chehalis River, in case the main line to the creek breaks again.
''Do you want to depend on the Lester Creek main for the duration of winter?'' Griffith asked the council.
Gray and Osborne estimated the pilot plant design, construction and study cost at $60,000.
The town of Pe Ell has received $451,724 in grants and loans from the Department of Ecology, and it has requested an additional $50,000 from the U.S. Forest Service to do some preliminary work on its wastewater lines.
Already, STEP volunteers helped find some of the problem areas by running smoke through the lines to find cracks into which storm water may be leaking. During heavy rainfall, too much water often leaks into the lines, which can overflow the treatment plant. The water that is then returned to the river may have not been treated enough.
When the heavy rainfall returns, the leaking pipes will be videotaped, to better determine what needs to be replaced or repaired.
Basic sewer rates cost residents $55.57 every two months. Those attending the council meeting said they did not know if they could afford hikes in both water and sewer rates.
Penberth said he hopes the sewer rates will not increase, noting that U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., is working on finding a $7 million grant to help Pe Ell's wastewater facility.
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