LOTT tells Tumwater council it treats 13 million gallons daily, pilots potable reuse and reuses methane and biosolids

Matt Kennelly, executive director of LOTT (the regional wastewater utility serving Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Thurston County), told the Tumwater City Council that LOTT's main Budd Inlet treatment plant processes about 13,000,000 gallons of wastewater per day and that the utility met its permit limits for the most recent reporting period.

Kennelly said the utility treats wastewater to a high standard, reuses a portion of treated water for irrigation and other nonpotable needs, captures methane to make heat and electricity, and is piloting a demonstration to take reclaimed water one step further toward potable reuse.

LOTT's performance and re-use work matters to Tumwater because the utility handles the community's wastewater treatment, affects regional water quality in Budd Inlet, and supplies reclaimed water that offsets potable use — for example, Tumwater's golf course uses reclaimed water in summer. Kennelly framed those items as part of a broader regional strategy to protect public health and Puget Sound water quality.

LOTT's role and scale Matt Kennelly told council members that LOTT serves roughly 140,000 people across four jurisdictions and that all of Tumwater's sewage is treated at the plant feeding Budd Inlet. "We process…