Erin to welcome everyone and introduce the project team and presenters. Erin will also review the format with meeting attendees. 1. Open house 2. Presentation 3. Q and A 4. Adjourn/return to open house Identify ways to provide comment tonight
Eric
Eric The City of Oak Harbor currently provides wastewater treatment approximately 24,000 people inside the city limits and on the Naval Air Station Seaplane Base. We currently operate two facilities – one in Windjammer Park and a second located on the Naval Air Station. Treated water from both facilities flows through an outfall pipe into Crescent Harbor Bay. These facilities are fine in serving us now, in 2010, but they will not be able to accommodate our population in the future. Explain why this is important in siting a facility.
Eric The Rotating Biological Contactor Facility is located next to Windjammer Park and has been serving the City since the 1950s, which is a long time in terms of the operational life of a treatment facility. It currently treats about 20% of the City’s total wastewater. This system is in need of replacement. It cannot be upgraded because parts are no longer available and it would not meet today’s standards for clean water.
Eric The lagoon at the Navy’s Seaplane Base treats about 80% of the City’s wastewater and handles 100% of the outfall. The facility meets current standards but is approaching capacity and would need a major upgrade/expansion to meet future water quality standards. The facility is surrounded by a saltwater marsh. Building a major expansion in this environmentally sensitive area would be very difficult.
Eric Early planning is underway to develop a modern wastewater treatment system that serve Oak Harbor’s growing community and better protect our surrounding bodies of water. We are beginning the process now with the intent of having a new facility constructed by 2017. Explain why we are starting the process now. A new facility will be designed to: Replace existing aging facilities Meet the state changing and more rigorous standards for protection of the Puget Sound Keep pace with City’s proposed population growth
Brian A facility plan is triggered when 85% of rated capacity is met for three consecutive months. The plan must be developed and approved by the Department of Ecology. This could be a 5-year process, even for simple facility expansions.
Brian When planning a new wastewater treatment facility, all municipal agencies must identify several possible site locations or alternatives and weigh the pros and cons of each alternative. It is also essential at this point in the process to identify the type of treatment process that will be used. I’ll first spend a few minutes talking about the facility siting process.
Brian Historically, primary criteria for decision making has been short-term economics and meeting a specific desire or need . Even that economic decision-making has been narrow – not including life cycle and externalized costs in our economic analyses. Sustainability demands we broaden our decision-making to give equal weight to Social and Environmental impacts, and broader economic impacts. We must consider far-flung and long-term effects of our decisions.
Brian There are four areas to consider at when determining the location and type of a new facility. It is important for us to consider technical constraints such as the efficiency and accuracy of the operating facility. Financial factors such as the total construction cost, the long-term costs to maintain and operate the system and the costs to rate payers. Social considerations including visual impacts of a facility, noise generated, smell or other community effects. And environmental factors such as the preservation of the surrounding bodies of water, protection of the environment and commitment to meeting all regulatory requirements. We’d like your feedback on other criteria for consideration within these categories.
Brian Why should you get involved? Locating and construction a modern treatment facility requires significant planning and financial investment. Tonight, we want to reach out to you to get your initial ideas for future facility locations and your feedback on decision-making criteria and our planned selection process.
Brian The City will choose a treatment technology based on a variety of factors such as cost, environmental benefit, reliability and ability to meet the values and vision of the Oak Harbor community. Discuss the MBR treatment process. Highest effluent quality and smallest footprint.
Brian Discuss the Activated Sludge Treatment Process: Similar effluent quality and larger footprint.
Eric
Eric Review the schedule at large and then focus in on where we are now with the Planning and Preliminary Engineering Phase. when some alternatives will be identified how those alternatives will be evaluates and refined to make a selection how the community will be engaged in the process. Where We Are Now - The facilities planning process began in September 2010. - Proposed alternatives will be evaluated in early 2011 and one proposed alternative will be identified by summer 2011. - The outcome of this process will be a report submitted for approval to the Washington State Department of Ecology. - Following planned environmental approval, the City will move forward with the selected alternative. - The new wastewater treatment facilities implemented and constructed will be outlined in this plan.
Erin Please provide your input. E-mail Mail Tonight via the comment forms and dots. Explain what to do next in regards to boards set up around the room.