Water Lines

Ruralite - November 2003
A newsletter for customers of Klickitat PUD

Lakeside Road Water Line Repair Successful

KPUD wants to thank customers along Lakeside Road in Glenwood for their patience and perseverance. A water line located in the canal from Conboy Lake was damaged by a backhoe while the canal was being cleaned. Customers were without drinking water for several days while the KPUD water crew replaced the line. KPUD supplied the customers with gallons of bottled water during the outage, and customers were warned not to drink the water until KPUD had obtained acceptable lab results on the water samples sent in for testing. Crews worked late long hours on September 25-26 to restore water service. On Monday morning, a water sample was driven up to Cascade Analytical Labs in Union Gap for testing. Word was received from the lab on Tuesday, September 30 that the test results were satisfactory, and customers were notified by phone that the water was safe to drink.

Wishram Wastewater Project Completed

On September 23, 2003 the KPUD Board of Commissioners approved the Wishram Wastewater Project as complete. The planning and design phase of this project began in May of 2002, with construction starting in October of 2002. The Yakima firm of Gray and Osborne were the consulting engineers on the project; Cargile Construction of Spokane was the construction contractor; and the Goldendale firm of Golden Graphics designed the project signs. Doug Miller performed on-site project inspections throughout the construction phase of the project.

The Wishram project was funded through a Department of Ecology (DOE) $425,000 grant/loan package, which included a DOE Centennial Clean Water Fund Grant in the amount of $207,000, and a zero interest, 20-year DOE State Revolving Fund Loan in the amount of $218,000.

Glenwood Jurisdiction Tract-D

WWW Manager Lorraine Reynolds recently received clarification as to which agency - state or federal - would be partnering with KPUD for the planned improvements on the Glenwood wastewater treatment plant. After a conference call with representatives from DOE and EPA, followed by a letter of confirmation from EPA, a jurisdiction has been determined for the Glenwood WW Plant. In determining said jurisdiction, the EPA Office of Regional Counsel consulted with the Yakama Nation, the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the EPA Regional Solicitor in Portland, Oregon. (A copy of the letter from the Environmental Protection Agency is available at the KPUD Water/WW office upon request. Please contact KPUD WWW Manager Lorraine Reynolds at: (509) 773-7620)

The letter of determination from EPA stressed the following points:

  • Yakama Nation has always been clear in its position that "Tract D" is part of the land the Yakama Nation reserved in its Treaty with the U.S. Government in 1855.
  • Department of Interior has con-sistently treated Tract D as being within the boundaries of the Yakama Reservation. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management's current survey of Reservation boundaries includes Tract D as being within the Yakama Reservation.
  • EPA understands that the clear position of United States is that the Glenwood WW Treatment Facility and other lands within Tract D are within the boundaries of the Yakama Indian Reservation.
  • State of Washington DOE has not been authorized to administer NPDES permit program within the Yakama Indian Reservation.
  • EPA has jurisdiction over the Glenwood WW Treatment Plant for its violations of the Clean Water Act. Said violation being that the KPUD Glenwood Wastewater Facility spray fields were discharging into U.S. waters without a permit.
  • KPUD must apply to EPA if the Glenwood Facility requires a discharge permit.

    Planning Phase of Klickitat Wastewater Project Extended

    In May the Klickitat Wastewater Facility Plan was completed and submitted to the Department of Ecology and Department of Heath for review and approval. On September 15, the PUD received notice from the Department of Health that the Klickitat Wastewater Facility Plan was approved. However, when KPUD met with the Dept. of Ecology and the Dept. of Community Trade and Economic Development (CTED) to discuss the plan in August, CTED encouraged KPUD to look at alternative methods for wastewater treatment that would make the project more economically feasible for the citizens of Klickitat.

    An amendment to the current draft Wastewater Facility Plan was proposed that would study a number of alternative wastewater treatment methods. The new scope of work is to determine, among other options, the feasibility of connecting the Klickitat treatment facility to the new facility proposed for Lyle. To fund the new scope of work, KPUD has applied for a $24,000 Planning Only Community Development Block Grant. The application is currently under consideration by CTED.

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