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Orcas Island sewer district outlines $23 million upgrade and capacity boost
Summary
District representatives told the committee that phase 1 is at substantial completion and phase 2 will expand treatment and nutrient-reduction capacity, funded largely by ratepayers and a roughly $14 million loan; officials gave a timeline, estimated ERU capacity gains and noted ongoing monitoring and maintenance priorities.
Phase 1 of the Orcas Island sewer project is at substantial completion, and Phase 2 will begin work in late May with the same contractor, officials said at the San Juan County advisory meeting.
The update matters because the district says the multi-phase project will nearly double the system's capacity and add nutrient-reduction capability required by regional regulators.
Jason, a district representative, told the committee that Phase 1 reached substantial completion and that the contract award for Phase 2 was signed with BOSS Construction, the same contractor that built Phase 1. "Phase 1 of your construction project is done, or at least we are at substantial completion, and that has been signed," Jason said. He said the Phase 2 kickoff is expected May 21 and that construction would run through December 2027 if all goes according to plan.
The district plans to spend about $23 million across phases 1 and 2. Jason said roughly $14 million of that will be debt; the loan terms discussed in the meeting were 30 years at about 1.1 to 1.6 percent interest. He also said the project is rate-payer funded: "our entire project is rate payer funded. So we are a taxing district, but we do not levy out taxes. It is completely rate payer funded," he said.
Officials described the technical purpose of Phase 2 as rebuilding two older treatment cells and adding nutrient-reduction processes. Jason said this will increase the system's capacity from about 1,100 ERUs (equivalent residential units) to nearly 2,000 ERUs and leave room to add another treatment cell later if density increases.
Committee members asked about inflow and infiltration (I&I) and other operational risks. Jason reported the district has a "very, very minute amount" of I&I by industry standards and said the system is regularly monitored. He also described an intermittently costly maintenance task: a trickling filter media replacement or cleaning; the district has employed a cleaning technique that postpones media replacement but acknowledged periodic expense for that work.
Committee members asked about stormwater and whether the system is prepared for future development. Jason said the Phase 2 improvements will give the district capacity to support some future growth and to meet regional nutrient-reduction expectations from Ecology for the Salish Sea.
Discussion items flagged for follow-up included: providing updated ERU numbers to the county capital facilities inventory; documenting exact loan terms and matching the district's capacity numbers with the county planning documents; and offering tours for interested members of the public.
No formal vote or county action was taken during the update.
Looking ahead, the district offered to provide its spreadsheet of ERU calculations to county staff and said it will continue routine monitoring and periodic maintenance that could require capital outlays in future years.
