Ephrata receives $6M for sewer treatment upgrades
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 11 months AGO
The city of Ephrata received more than $6 million in funding to upgrade the town's wastewater treatment plant, pictured. The facility will receive significant improvements that help ensure it takes care of the city's population for years to come.
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Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | September 12, 2024 1:30 AM
EPHRATA — The Wahington Public Works Board has awarded funding for ongoing sewer system upgrades in Ephrata.
The board awarded $6.05 million to pay for part of a project to rebuild and refurbish parts of the city’s wastewater treatment facility. The awards were announced Monday.
Ephrata City Engineer Shawn O’Brien said the PWB awarded a low-interest loan, but that some of it might be converted to a grant.
Ephrata Public Works Director Rob Harris said the project has already started and originally was going to be funded by the Washington Department of Ecology.
However, O’Brien said, the project has increased in complexity.
The facility’s systems for reducing the level of pollutants and its disinfectant system, among other pieces, are being upgraded. As engineers reviewed the project the scope of work expanded, O’Brien said.
“We’ll be addressing most every phase of the (wastewater) treatment plant,” he said. “It will expand our capacity to handle peak loads.”
The cost expanded too; the city awarded a contract for $9.8 million to Clearwater Construction, Spokane, O’Brien said.
The DOE was willing to fund the expansion, but the timing of the project pushed the city’s application for additional money into the next funding cycle, O’Brien said. In the meantime, city officials applied to the Public Works Board.
“We kind of split the funding,” Harris said.
“The additional cost and extra scope will be funded through the Public Works Board,” O’Brien said.
The project started in June and is projected for completion by January 2026.
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