Ecology notified of urgent concerns over contaminated water filtration system
By Dan Thesman on Tuesday, August 20th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
WALLA WALLA – Sam Rudnick, owner of the 106 Building next door to the Stillwater Holdings Chevron in Walla Walla, has sent a letter to the Washington State Department of Ecology regarding his urgent concerns over the contaminated water filtration system.
Rudnick claims a significant discrepancy exists between the intended design of the water filtration system installed following last September’s gas spill, and the actual implementation, which has compromised the system’s effectiveness.
In the letter to Ecology dated Aug. 15, he states the current implementation appears to have created a closed-loop system that continuously recycles groundwater through the filtration system and back into the ground, rather than properly disposing of it via the city water system.
“The intended design is for filtered water to be transported from the filtration system to the Rose Street sewer for normal sanitary water processing,” Rudnick stated in the letter. “Instead, the water is being sent to a janitorial sink within the building, which is not connected to the Rose Street sewer, but rather to a Second Avenue sewer line that we have confirmed is broken. We suspect that the broken line allows the water to re-enter the ground and be reintroduced directly to the basement groundwater sumps, thus making a closed-loop system.”
Rudnick states there is evidence supporting his concern, including unusual water levels. He explains that despite the current August dry season and lack of significant rainfall, the ground water sumps located in the basement of the 106 Building are removing substantial amounts of water.
“This is unprecedented in our nearly 10-year ownership of the property,” Rudnick said.
Rudnick requested that Ecology immediately validate that the filtered water is being properly transported to the Walla Walla sewer line or redesign/reimplement a system promptly if the current system is confirmed to be ineffective.
In his letter, Rudnick said that in the absence of Ecology’s immediate action, he would conduct his own validation measures and seek reimbursement for associated costs. Ecology stated that the city of Walla Walla will be conducting dye testing today (Tuesday) on the janitorial sink mentioned in Rudnick’s letter.
