Jefferson County has agreed to purchase vital equipment needed for the Port Hadlock sewer system from a company in Salt Lake, Utah.

County commissioners approved a contract with Ovivo USA for the design, fabrication and installation of membrane bioreactor equipment that will be needed for the Port Hadlock Water Reclamation Facility.

The $1.6 million contract covers design services, membrane bioreactor system equipment and services needed while the sewer-treatment plant is built, and necessary taxes.

County officials noted the first fiscal impact will be for design services.

Those costs will be covered by the Port Hadlock Wastewater System fund, which will allow the final design of the treatment system to be completed.

County officials noted the costs for the system’s equipment, and services needed during construction, won’t be needed until construction of the project. That’s expected in 2023-2024.

Ovivo was the low bidder on the Port Hadlock project and was selected by commissioners in April as the low bidder following further analysis of the bids by the county’s Public Works Department and the county’s design engineers at Tetra Tech.

Ovivo has since provided the bonding needed for the project, and the contract was presented to commissioners at their meeting Monday.

Commissioners approved the contract Monday.

“It’s good to lock in a purchase price even though we are not purchasing it yet,” Commissioner Kate Dean said during the June 7 meeting.

It’s exciting to see the sewer project making progress, she added.