A new $500,000 study for the city of Oak Harbor will look at, among many other things, the impact that closing the sewage treatment plant in City Beach Park would have on the overall system.
The City Council agreed last week to hire Seattle firm Tetra Tech/KCM to update the Sewer and Storm Water Comprehensive Plan to include a rate study, inventory and mapping, identification of sewer conveyance and drainage problems, a look into long-range biosolids disposal needs, and preparation of comprehensive plans.
The study will also consider costs impacts from the possible closure of the smelly waterfront plant. The city’s tourism consultant, Roger Brooks, has said moving or getting rid of the plant is a vital part of improving the area.
It might be a possibility if the city gets control of the Navy’s sewage treatment system in nearby Crescent Harbor, which the Navy and city have been negotiating for many months. City Engineer Larry Benfield predicted it will happen.
“It looks like we are going to continue to operate the Navy system,†he said.
The study will cost $492,000 of dedicated wastewater and storm water funds, which comes from customer rates.
