Substantial sewer rate increase announced for North Powder as DEQ mandates sewage dredging
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, February 29th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
NORTH POWDER – North Powder residents should prepare for a major increase in their sewer bills later this year. In its most recent newsletter, the city of North Powder announced a planned dredging project for the city’s wastewater lagoons set for November 2024. In total, the project is estimated to cost $850,000. According to North Powder City Recorder Beth Wendt, sewer rates will increase 13 dollars per month, a change which will go into effect sometime before the project is completed.
The reason for such a massive increase is due to the limited number of grants available. As wastewater lagoon dredging is considered standard maintenance, not many grants cover this type of project, with North Powder being ineligible for many of the grants that do still apply. The city cannot apply for another CBBGE grant for another 5 years, though is allowed to use leftover funds from the previous grant. In addition, remaining ARPA funding along with a pre-approved grant from the previous water project are also available.
Overall, however, most of the project costs will have to be covered via a hybrid grant/loan from the state. The $13 increase will push the total sewer rate up to $61.30 per month in order to be compliant with the state loan.
The dredging project itself is, unfortunately, partially the result of improper use of the city’s sewer system. The constant flushing of non-sewage materials, such as vegetables, paper towels and wipes, has caused a buildup of solid waste in the sewer ponds. According to Wendt, even stuffed toys and drug paraphernalia have been found in the system. This assorted junk does not break down, causing it to take up space and throw off the chemical composition of the wastewater system. As explained in the North Powder newsletter:
“Since these things do not decompose at a rapid rate, they create what is known as ‘suspended solids,’ or particles that are waterborne that exceed 2 microns in size. The DEQ sets limits to the total number of suspended solids (TSS) allowed under the City’s wastewater discharge permit. There are also limits on things like BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), ammonia, pH, E.coli, alkanity, and nitrate, just to name a few. When solids don’t break down properly, it can, and often does, cause these components to exceed the limits set in the discharge permit.”
As a result of this buildup, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has mandated the city’s wastewater lagoons be dredged by September 2024. Even prior to this mandate, the flushing of assorted garbage and non-biodegradable waste has played havoc on the system, resulting in previous fines from the DEQ. Though dredging was already planned, (the city last dredged the lagoons in 1998), the mandate from the DEQ gives North Powder less time to come up with needed funds and prevents the project from being completed in stages.
Going forward, North Powder is reminding residents to NOT Flush garbage down their toilets, even if some of it may seem biodegradable. As best put by Wendt, “Just don’t flush that stuff, it’s just causing us problems!”
