Estacada reviews 90% design for wastewater plant; council told DEQ technical sign‑off and bidding are imminent

Estacada City Council workshop — Engineers from Kennedy Jenks and Slaton Constructors presented a 90% design update for the city’s new wastewater treatment plant, told council members the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has approved procurement and bid packages but is still completing a technical review, and outlined a tentative schedule to put the project out to bid within one to two weeks.

The update described the plant layout, treatment process and site amenities. The headworks will feed a pump station that delivers flow to a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for secondary treatment, followed by filtration and ultraviolet disinfection before discharge to the river. Solids will be routed to an aerobic digester to reduce odors and the volume of solids; solids will then be dewatered, stored in dumpsters and hauled off-site. Planned support buildings include a dewatering/equipment building with a shop and electrical room, an odor-control unit using wood-chip/sand media, and a prefabricated administration building.

Why it matters: the project replaces aging infrastructure, affects a visible riverside site near Portal Park, and requires state and federal permitting and long‑lead equipment purchases. Council members focused on visual screening, on‑site storage for city equipment, construction timing and potential cost risks.

Design, landscaping and site tradeoffs

Presenters showed 3‑D renderings and several landscaping options intended to screen tanks and equipment from Portal Park and Highway approaches. The design team recommended a black chain‑link fence with privacy slats and planting beds with a mix of taller trees and shorter shrubs; designers said trees may take 10–15 years to reach the scale shown in the renderings and that bushes generally fill in within 2–3 years. One option discussed would add gravel storage area inside the fenced site to allow on‑site laydown and parking for several vehicles (presenters estimated roughly 140 feet long by 14 feet wide, enough for about three to four vehicles); that would reduce the landscape area inside the fence and push more planting toward the roadway.

Council members asked for cost comparisons for larger, more mature trees and for options to accelerate roadside plantings so screening is established earlier. Presenters said roadside plantings could be installed near the start of construction (subject to power trenching) so they have a head start on growth.

Timeline, permitting and procurement

The council was told an early‑work amendment to purchase long‑lead items — specifically the MBR equipment, electrical service gear and the generator — was executed in October. The 90% design was completed in January and DEQ has approved the procurement and bid packages; the technical review by DEQ remains outstanding. Presenters said technical approval is expected “sometime this month” (pending DEQ staffing) and, once received, the city plans to advertise the project in about one to two weeks for a four‑week bid period. After bids are received, the team expects roughly two weeks to evaluate submissions and perform technical clarifications before returning results to the council.

Presenters tentatively proposed a June 9 council workshop to review bids and a possible guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for council consideration; whether final contract approval would occur the same night would depend on the bid results. If contracting occurs in June, the team said it would take several weeks to prepare subcontracts and purchase orders, and then seek mobilization later in the year — with environmental permitting (DEQ/EPA/NOAA/FERC as applicable) currently scoped for September–October. The presenters warned that federal permitting steps (including FERC and NOAA review) took longer than originally expected and that the city will request a compliance‑deadline extension from DEQ once the GMP and final schedule are available; the team’s working estimate for a revised compliance date is December 2027 (the current compliance date on the MAO with DEQ was stated as September 2026).

Outreach, local bidders and bid packaging

The project team described targeted outreach to local contractors: they identified 28 local firms for direct outreach and hosted an on‑site pre‑bid outreach meeting that eight firms attended. The full public bid package will be advertised in industry outlets and on the city’s website. The project was scoped into 53 bid packages; presenters said custom combinations of packages would be allowed where bidders propose alternate scopes.

Cost risk and requirements

Presenters identified economic uncertainties — including recent tariff activity — that could affect pricing, but noted the project includes an American Iron and Steel requirement for steel materials. They did not present final cost numbers at the workshop and said a preliminary cost update would be available roughly two weeks after the close of the bid period and evaluation.

No formal council actions

This was an informational workshop; council members asked questions and gave direction on landscaping and staging tradeoffs but took no formal votes.

Next steps

The project team will seek DEQ’s technical approval, publish bid documents, and return to council (tentatively June 9) with bid results and a recommended GMP or, if needed, a request for additional council review. The city also plans to prepare and submit a formal request for a DEQ compliance extension once the GMP and final schedule are known.