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Public works update: Junction City reports progress on sewer facility plan, smoke testing and pursuit of state funds for water projects
Summary
Staff reported completed valve installation, submitted facility plan elements to DEQ, a planned spring smoke‑testing program, and efforts to secure state grant funds (including a $50,000 smoke‑testing grant with Business Oregon) and design funding for a west‑side water treatment plant.
Junction City — At the council’s Jan. 28 work session, public‑works staff updated councilors on multiple infrastructure projects, saying the city has completed a key valve installation, continued work on the sewer facility plan and pretreatment surveys, and is pursuing state funding for water‑system projects.
Public‑works staff said they installed and tested a valve that can shut down the lagoon system as designed, submitted the facility‑plan report and a recycled‑water use plan to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and reported geotechnical work is complete for parts of the sewer redesign. The staff update noted the industrial pretreatment survey letters were sent to industrial users (36 letters sent; 76 responses reported back — transcript phrasing indicates counting or reporting anomalies that staff will reconcile) and that certain users received longer forms with a Friday deadline to return information.
Staff said smoke testing is planned for spring and that televising (CCTV) of sewer basins will continue where groundwater levels permit; some basins cannot now be televised because of high groundwater. Staff emphasized the difficulty of scheduling work around weather and groundwater and said they are building contingency plans that would allow the city to contract out smaller pieces if necessary.
On funding, staff said they are working with Business Oregon and the governor’s Regional Solutions team and have resubmitted a letter of interest seeking design funding for a proposed west‑side water treatment plant; staff said that project fit some current state funding priorities. Staff also said they are working with the state on a $50,000 grant to help fund the planned smoke testing. The city reported the Alderville well (referred to in materials) is in the design phase and cultural work is complete.
Councilors asked for clearer project scheduling information, including internal “in‑house” target dates and end dates rather than relying solely on MAO or permit deadlines. Staff said they maintain a schedule that uses end dates for compliance requirements and that providing precise in‑house start dates can be difficult because work depends on engineering schedules and weather.
Why it matters: City staff said the sewer and water projects are central to resolving the sanitary‑sewer capacity limits tied to the city’s DEQ MAO and moratorium; progress on design, testing and funding will influence how quickly the city can lift moratorium constraints and resume standard permitting timelines.
