More than 70 homes just north of Vancouver city limits now have the option of connecting to Clark Regional Wastewater District’s public sewer system. The infrastructure project highlights the challenges of failing septic systems in urban neighborhoods.
The wastewater district recently brought service to the Sunset Strip neighborhood, developed in the 1970s when the public sewer system didn’t connect to the area.
John Peterson, wastewater district general manager, said there are more than 40 neighborhoods in the district’s service area that are not connected to the public sewer system.
The wastewater district serves primarily unincorporated Clark County and the city of Ridgefield.
About 1,400 septic systems in the district are reaching the end of their useful life, Peterson added. The county is home to 35,229 active onsite septic systems, according to Clark County Public Health.
The wastewater district plans to make its public sewer system available to more neighborhoods as part of its Septic Elimination Program.
The Sunset Strip neighborhood sits north of Five Corners, off Northeast 94th Avenue, and lies near Curtin Creek.
Through its Septic Elimination Program, the district helps qualifying property owners connect to the sewer system, offering engineering, design, construction management and sometimes financial incentives.
Septic systems can treat wastewater effectively if they’re functioning correctly, said Heath Henderson, collection infrastructure director at the wastewater district. But many septic systems in the Vancouver area are 30 to 50 years old.
Problems arise when the systems begin to fail. They could begin to overflow into nearby properties or lead to nutrient buildup in the groundwater, impacting local waterways.
“The goal is to avoid that,” Henderson said.
When one septic system fails, he added, more tend to as well, depending on the soil conditions in the area.
The Sunset Strip project cost $2.3 million, funded in part by the wastewater district, as well as the state and federal governments.
Sunset Strip homeowners would have needed to pay $30,000 each to connect to the public sewer. But program incentives brought the cost down to $13,000 plus the $45 monthly service fee.
The wastewater district next plans to bring its Septic Elimination Program to the Wallace Heights area in Hazel Dell.
