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LOTT Clean Water Alliance outlines upgrades, reuse and regional collaboration
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Summary
At a Thurston County commissioners work session, LOTT Clean Water Alliance reviewed recent capital upgrades, its regulatory compliance record, recycling and reuse programs, and pilot plans including the state’s first potable reuse demonstration.
Matt Kennelly, executive director of LOTT Clean Water Alliance, told the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners on July 23 that the regional wastewater utility has completed a major treatment upgrade, is meeting its discharge permits and is planning future projects to handle growth and increase water reuse.
LOTT serves the cities of Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater and parts of Thurston County and, Kennelly said, treats about 13,000,000 gallons of wastewater per day at its Bud Inlet Treatment Plant in downtown Olympia. He described the organization’s mission as “to protect public health and the environment by cleaning water and restoring resources for our community.”
The utility reported full compliance with discharge permits for the most recent reporting period and highlighted capital and operational details. Kennelly said LOTT maintains roughly $1 billion in infrastructure, 91 employees and a multi-decade planning horizon. He described a $34,000,000 digester upgrade under construction and said LOTT uses low-interest state loans for major projects.
LOTT emphasized reuse and resource recovery. The utility captures biogas to power plant systems and heat buildings, reuses biosolids in agricultural programs and produces 3,000,000–4,000,000 gallons per day of reclaimed water between its main and satellite facilities. Kennelly noted the Tumwater golf course uses about 600,000 gallons per day of reclaimed irrigation water.
Kennelly framed LOTT’s work as one part of broader watershed improvements. He cited a Department of Ecology chart showing Capitol Lake and external sources as larger contributors to oxygen depletion in Bud Inlet than point discharges from LOTT. He said that, rather than pursuing incremental, costly additional treatment that would reduce LOTT’s share of the problem by a small amount, the utility seeks projects — including septic-to-sewer conversions — that address nonpoint sources and regional impacts in partnership with tribes and other agencies.
Kennelly described a planned potable reuse demonstration intended to be the first in Washington state. He said the project would “share that water should be judged by its quality and not its history” and that the demonstration would be confined to batching and demonstration at the plant rather than immediate pipeline connections. He said local partners and tribes are participating and that the utility plans outreach events, including a demonstration with SPSCC brewing and distilling students.
Commissioners thanked Kennelly for the update. Chair Ty Manser and other commissioners noted LOTT’s awards and the utility’s outreach (science center tours for local students and public parks built over infrastructure). No formal action or vote followed the presentation.
Questions raised by commissioners focused on scale, funding and timing for projects and on how LOTT coordinates with cities under the interlocal arrangement that forms the alliance.
