Successful filtration of material pumped from sumps and wells in downtown WW
By Dan Thesman on Thursday, October 5th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
News release from city of Walla Walla
WALLA WALLA – On Wednesday, Washington Department of Ecology staff received the results from the testing of samples of water that had been processed through the filtering system. The samples came back as “non-detect for BTEX,” meaning there was zero trace of gasoline contamination. Clean Harbors plans to begin discharging filtered water at the Wastewater Treatment Plant today after approval is received from Walla Walla Public Works staff.
Clean Harbors has been pumping material from two of the monitoring wells and plans to begin pumping from a third monitoring well today. A total of around 5,000 gallons were pumped from the wells on Tuesday and Wednesday. About 3,000 gallons per day were pumped from the sumps in the 106 N. 2nd Ave. building and the Marcus Whitman Hotel on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Please be advised: Pumping operations from certain wells, and the possible drilling of new wells, will require periodic closures of sections of Rose Street and an additional portion of 2nd Avenue to accommodate the work. These closures will likely not be announced due to their temporary nature. If your commute takes you through this area, please be aware of the potential closures. The response crew thanks everyone for your patience and flexibility during this process.
The hotel is tentatively planning to reopen on Tuesday Oct. 10, dependent on meeting Washington State Department of Labor and Industries and Walla Walla County Department of Community Health requirements.
City Communications staff received a question from a resident regarding the situation at the Walla Walla Post Office. Our contact at the U.S. Postal Service tells us the Post Office is still operating from its temporary location, and there is no new information to provide. When staff receive any subsequent updates, we will pass them along to residents.
This update is based on information provided by Washington Department of Ecology staff. City staff will continue to provide these updates on the City website (https://www.wallawallawa.gov/gasoline) as we receive additional info from Ecology.
Photo shows the mixture of water and gasoline that is pumped from the sumps and monitoring wells being deposited into a frac tank, then filtered using a multistage filtration system. The clean, filtered water will be disposed of at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, while the contaminants removed will be disposed of at a hazardous waste facility.
