The wastewater district that serves more than 125,000 Clark County residents has outgrown its current facilities and will embark on a major expansion.
Clark Regional Wastewater District conveys and treats between 8 million and 12 million gallons of sewage a day from Hazel Dell, Felida, Salmon Creek, Meadow Glade, Hockinson and the city of Ridgefield.
The district has seen its customer base double in the past 20 years and expects similar growth for the next 20 years.
“The demand for district services has and will continue to grow,” Norm Harker, president of the district’s three-person board of commissioners, said in a statement. “Every new customer represents more wastewater and more pipes and pumps that must be managed. ”
Future growth is expected along Interstate 5 in the Ridgefield and fairgrounds areas. The district considered moving to a more central location before concluding the most cost-effective plan was to expand at its current location, 8000 N.E. 52nd Court, where it owns two parcels totaling 8.42 acres
“Reinvesting in the current location will allow the district to maximize the value of the ratepayers’ original investment and use the existing facilities throughout the remainder of their useful life,” Harker said.
The expansion and remodeling program is expected to cost more than $13 million and take three years to complete.
Specific elements include:
• Constructing an 8,000-square-foot operations building for field workers immediately south of the existing administration building.
• Remodeling portions of the administration building.
• Expanding the existing maintenance building by 3,600 square feet and building a 5,880-square-foot covered storage area.
• Adding parking spaces and building new walking paths for district employees and customers.
The project will be paid for using connection charges from new development and rate revenue from district customers.
District offices will remain open during construction, but the board of commissioners’ meeting room will not be available for public use until the project is complete in 2022.
