Quilcene wastewater system could cost up to $12 million

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The price of building a large community septic system in Quilcene, which could boost economic development and increase water quality, is estimated to be between $6 million and $12.5 million, according to preliminary figures from a feasibility study that the Port of Port Townsend is conducting.

“I don’t want to sugarcoat anything. The numbers are daunting,” said Eric Toews, director of planning for the port.

Toews said he met with Quilcene residents regarding the port’s role in managing a wastewater feasibility study for the core Quilcene area. The port is working on the study only and would not play a role in implementing any possible wastewater system. The study is being conducted with the Tetra Tech company.

“This is very much a preliminary feasibility study, and it’s really intended to be a tool that the community can use about making decisions about its future,” Toews said.

There are two alternatives being considered for a possible service area. Quilcene is not incorporated as a city.

Toews said the first alternative is a “rural village center” (RVC) extending from the Quilcene Village Store at the north, around the U.S. Highway 101 curve and down to the Quilcene Community Center.

“So, it’s really quite a considerable area, with over 88 parcels,” Toews said.

LINEAL FEET OF PIPE

“What really drives the cost is the collection system, almost more than the treatment. It’s the lineal feet of pipe in the ground that really drives it.”

The collecting pipes would lead to large septic drain fields.

Toews said the cost estimate for this alternative, which includes a 30 percent contingency, are “considerable.”

“They range anywhere from $6 million to $12.5 million for the total system. The per-unit costs were also quite high,” he said.

The second alternative is to use a smaller service area that would go from Herbert Street down to the community center. This area includes properties that are the least capable of supporting on-site septic, he said. This smaller plan is estimated to cost less: $6 million-$8 million.

Toews said that keeping the cost below $10 million is important in order to increase the chances that the project could obtain grant funding.

Toews said the purpose of the study is not to approve or disallow a wastewater system but to lay out how it could be accomplished, including the technology that would be needed and the sites that could be used.

UP TO THE COMMUNITY

Any decision would be up to the community.

“I think one of the real challenges going forward is going to be how does this pencil? Is participating going to be mandatory for everyone within the RVC? At some level, it probably can’t be voluntary.

“So, there are some residential properties within the RVC where perhaps it would make less sense to require a connection at the outset.

“But certainly at a future date if you are building a new home within the RVC or if you have a failing septic system, that might be the trigger for connection to this system. These kinds of policy questions really drive the numbers and the … costs,” he said.

According to the port, how the study pencils out is crucial because if the per-unit cost of a community system is higher than the cost of a privately owned individual septic system, it might not make financial sense.

Septic systems for individual use cost from $15,000 to $50,000, according to the port. At present, most of Quilcene handles wastewater through individual septic systems.

Lack of a wastewater system limits economic development, according to port documents.

ECONOMIC NEEDS

For example, the town’s gas station does not have a public restroom, and low-income housing doesn’t pencil out. According to a port survey, some Quilcene residents said they thought the area might turn into a “ghost town,” but others described the area as “paradise” and do not want further economic development.

According to the port, the community system would improve water quality, which is important to Coast Seafoods Company, which farms shellfish. It is the only large employer in Quilcene, according to the documents.

Another factor is that some wells for potable water are just 30 feet from leach fields.

Toews said he’s received positive feedback from about a dozen Quilcene residents.

“I heard on several occasions a real sincere thanks to the port and port commissioners for leading the charge on this, because some community leaders, they see this is as critical to the future of Quilcene.”