Above: All the water that will ever be is right now.
It’s the Groundwater: LOTT Advisory Group Still Has A Lot of Questions
By Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com
Reclaimed, recycled, infiltrated. What do these words mean to you?
In the context of water, those three little words are synonymous. Pose the question to three different people using each one of those words, and chances are you may get three different answers, or, perhaps, puzzled looks altogether.
After several months and five meetings, the 16 member community advisory group to the LOTT Clean Water Alliance's Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study has wrapped up Phase I of its work.
The group, and the LOTT Alliance, the water utility organization comprised of Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Thurston County, will be helping the community understand what these words mean in the months to come.
Reclaimed water is a form of wastewater management - it's wastewater that has been treated and can be used for a different purpose, such as irrigation. It's a somewhat new concept in the Pacific Northwest, although it has been used for years for a variety of purposes, even for drinking, in California, the Southwest, and other locations in the country.
The South Sound community is already producing and using reclaimed water. The LOTT Alliance produces Class A reclaimed water using a sand filter technology - up to 1.5 million gallons per day - at its plant in downtown Olympia, and uses it for irrigation. Up to another two million gallons per day is produced at the LOTT plant in Lacey on Martin Way. The reclaimed water produced there uses a membrane bioreactor technology and is currently pumped to the Hawks Prairie reclaimed water ponds and recharge basins where it is infiltrated to replenish groundwater. Reclaimed water is also being used to enhance wetlands and restore stream flows.
Although the Class A reclaimed water that LOTT produces is continually monitored and tested, there are lingering and emerging questions about our area's unique geography, soil structures, and what is currently in our water system, such as compounds of emerging concern, i.e. pharmaceuticals and personal care products. These are all topics being explored by the LOTT Alliance and the groundwater study advisory group when it comes to the continued and future use of this reclaimed water.
The subject of reclaimed water, and its use for potentially recharging our groundwater aquifers is emotional and fraught with conflicting concerns. It's about community values and its unknown risk on human and environmental health. It's also about money - the cost of processing and treating it to the highest level using the best technology to date, issues around land use and growth, and competing priorities for the use of a precious and scarce natural resource - water.
The Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study
The groundwater advisory group community members applied for their positions and were selected by the LOTT Alliance board of directors late last year. Most group members have demonstrated a steep learning curve. Some have
a background or some experience in water issues, public service, and related
administrative nuances, such as serving on a board of some kind. Most, if not
all, members have exhibited a healthy curiosity and some have asked questions that
indicate an ongoing dose of skepticism in LOTT, the process, and
the advisory group’s actual role. Some are quite satisfied with the direction
of the study, and the information provided thus far. Others, not so much.
Members have received a great deal of information, mostly from LOTT’s
perspective, on the latest science regarding basic water/wastewater principals,
definitions and explanations of technical jargon, and information
regarding the unique challenges facing the South Sound community and its varied
water systems. Public comment has been
allowed at each meeting, and members have discussed and reviewed their concerns
during meetings. Each meeting has lasted three hours.
The group and LOTT staff has been aided by two consulting
firms, Katz & Associates, and HDR Engineering, Inc., to facilitate meetings
and help develop materials, presentations, lectures, surveys and public
involvement plans.
It is incumbent upon group members to do a lot of their own
homework if they want to distill the information provided to them and rise up
to ask questions that may counter what it is they are being told.
And they have had a lot of questions: Why is this study
being conducted? Why are we here? What are compounds of emerging concern (CECs)
and are they currently in our groundwater and/or drinking water? What happens
to recharged/recycled/infiltrated water? Where does it go? Is it safe to use
this reclaimed water for groundwater recharge? What are the standards now in
state and federal law for monitoring CECs? What are the soil types in Thurston
County? What do groundwater studies in California have to do with us?
The advisory committee members have experienced what amounts
to a college-level crash course in local water reuse issues. It has included
science and case-study lectures, Power Point presentations, tours of the LOTT
facilities, the creation of public opinion research surveys in the form of
interviews with over 50 selected community members and a telephone survey of
400 randomly chosen Thurston County residents, and more.
So, which words should be used to explain to the community the work of the LOTT Clean Water Alliance’s Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study?
Using the term ‘recharge’ was still causing the group worries during
their last meeting, and they considered changing the word to ‘infiltration’.
However, in order to stay consistent with word usage in state law, they decided
to keep the word ‘recharge’.
Phase II of the Study - Scoping
At the last scheduled meeting to wrap up their original time
commitment to LOTT, staff took an informal round-the-room poll of members to
see if they were willing to continue in their positions into Phase II of the
study. Reflecting their dedication and interest, almost all the
advisory board members agreed to continue on with their commitment to the
process.
Phase II of the study will identify the actual activities of
the study goals, activities, who will conduct the activities, the actual
schedule and cost of the study. A draft public involvement plan has been
developed and was discussed. The group will meet again in
late July and hold an informational open house for the public on its work thus
far in late September. Phase II is expected to be completed by January 2014.
There are several challenges to this multi-year study, as
with any long – term regional plan: the diverse levels of interest, knowledge
and understanding of water related topics, evolving and varied viewpoints of
current science, a lack of regulatory guidelines regarding reclaimed water, and
the fact that LOTT is already infiltrating reclaimed water at Hawks
Prairie. In fact, the cities of Lacey and Olympia are expected to begin sub-surface
infiltration as part of their Woodland Creek Infiltration Project in the Fall
of 2013.
Above: Ben McConkey, LOTT Clean Water Alliance facilities coordinator and project manager for the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study, gives a community tour today of the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant in downtown Olympia. Here, McConkey shows a layer of scum being skimmed off the top of water in the Primary Clarifier area of the plant.
Ongoing Questions and Growth in South Sound
Some members of the community, as well as members of the groundwater advisory group, question why groundwater recharge
continues while the groundwater study is underway.
Karla Fowler, LOTT Community
Relations and Environmental Policy Director, answered some of these questions
at the last advisory group meeting:
Why not just discharge
more wastewater to Puget Sound, instead of infiltrating reclaimed water? Short
answer, there are limits to discharging more to marine waters, and Budd Inlet
is already an impaired water system. Fowler discussed two ongoing state
Department of Ecology studies that may soon require the LOTT Alliance to put less water into
Budd Inlet.
Is this study just a
marketing plan to “sell” the public on infiltration because there are no
alternatives? Fowler emphatically says no, that LOTT is just trying to
understand the science so local decision makers can reaffirm or change what
they are doing. She says there are alternatives, but they are different than
what has been studied before, such as cleaning the water to a higher level
through a reverse osmosis process.
Why recharge when we
live in a place where there is plenty of water? Are groundwater supplies really
limited? All our water
resources are connected and there is very little clean water available when we
need it due to seasonal needs and usage, growth, and related stormwater runoff
issues. Our region’s growth is one reason why this study is needed. Increased
water demands, and where and how to use wastewater is critical.
Fowler also said using reclaimed water for non-drinking
purposes helps directly supplement water supplies. Infiltrating reclaimed water
can be used as mitigation to help the cities acquire new water rights. She
explained that that’s the reason the cities of Lacey and Olympia are working
together on the Woodland Creek Infiltration Project. That project allowed Lacey
to acquire new water rights by using reclaimed water to recharge groundwater at
the Community Park on Pacific Avenue, east of Carpenter Road.
But, she says,
the cities interest in water rights mitigation is not the sole driver for LOTT to
infiltrate reclaimed water. LOTT produces reclaimed water and sells it to the
cities for $1 a year. It is up to the cities to decide how to use that water,
for irrigation or stream flow enhancement, for example. If the cities do not
make use of the water, LOTT must have an outlet for it, and that is where the
infiltration basins come in. Ultimately, LOTT is tasked with responding to our
communities needs for wastewater treatment – existing and future.
Fowler said the groundwater community advisory group has raised a lot of good questions.
“We hope to keep chipping away at those questions, providing more answers as we
continue to work with you through the next phases of the study,” she said.
The decision to use reclaimed water in our groundwater
ultimately lies with the LOTT Board of Directors, composed of four elected officials, one
from each jurisdiction, currently held by City of Lacey councilmember Cynthia
Pratt (chair), City of Olympia councilmember Steve Langer, City of Tumwater
councilmember Tom Oliva, and Thurston County Commissioner Sandra Romero.
Even before the ultimate decision comes to them, advisory
board members have already made several recommendations on how to start
educating the community and all Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater city council
members and Thurston County commissioners on the issue now.
Tour the LOTT Facility
Ben McConkey, LOTT's facilities coordinator and project manager for the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study, gave a public tour today of LOTT's Budd Inlet Treatment Plant. The tour provides a fascinating look at the behind-the-scenes work of the facility, which includes seeing a screener with small holes that takes out baby wipes, condoms, tampons, rags, bottles, sticks, leaves and other materials that shouldn't be in the system. Primary and secondary clarifiers and ultraviolet lights further process the water so it can be discharged to Budd Inlet or used for other uses such as irrigation and other non-drinking purposes.
Above: One of the secondary clarifier basins. The Market Center building and the Olympia Farmer's Market can be seen from the LOTT facility in downtown Olympia.
At the end of the two hour tour, McConkey answered several questions and thanked today's group of ten people for coming. McConkey, who has a background of nearly 25 years in water and wastewater issues, regularly gives tours to adults and children.
Lacey resident Joel Carlson said, "Now I have even more questions. Recycling toilet water into tap water doesn't sound that good, but it makes sense." Carlson said his sister lives in Orange County, California where reclaimed water is treated to the highest level through reverse osmosis. He came on today's tour to educate himself about the water system here in Thurston County.
"I've lived here about five years and recently attended a "Sustainable Thurston" teach-in about growth issues sponsored by the Carnegie Group. In order to accommodate growth, we're going to have to look at higher density - I don't see any other way unless you want to see sprawl. The trick is to do it right."
"We put a lot of pressure on our water resources," said McConkey. "We use it, dirty it, and throw it away. I'm glad to see the interest - it's complex....One of the passions I have is water and my goal is to help you learn enough to be informed."
About the groundwater study specifically, McConkey said, "When I talk about it, I hear a whole spectrum of comments from, 'Why are you bothering me with that?' to very specific concerns. I find that if we don't get everyone's ideas to the best of our ability to help us identify key questions, we won't answer our questions about the best scientific methods and procedures...At least we can inform ourselves of the best options to take. A lot of good ideas can come out of that."
For more information about the membership of the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study, the LOTT Alliance, compounds of emerging concern, and other water issues, go to www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words, using the search button.
For more information
on the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study, or to go on a tour of LOTT at 500 Adams St. NE in downtown Olympia, call (360)
664-2333 or go to www.lottcleanwater.org .
The WET Science Center at LOTT offers kid and adult friendly interactive exhibits, activities and presentations that explain our local water system. For more information, go to www.wetsciencecenter.org.
The Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study group meeting minutes are available
online. Audio DVDs of actual discussions are available by request. All meetings are open
to the public. For more information on upcoming meetings, contact Lisa
Dennis-Perez, LOTT Public Communications Manager, at (360) 528-5719 or lisadennis-perez@lottcleanwater.org.
Full Disclosure:
Janine Unsoeld was one of 53 members of the community selected to participate
in a one-on-one interview to discuss personal perspectives, knowledge and
opinions of LOTT, the use of reclaimed water, and general local water issues.
My interview was conducted by Patsy Tennyson, facilitator and consultant with
Katz & Associates. Comments were anonymously incorporated into a prepared
summary report dated May 8, 2013. Participants were not informed or
knowledgeable of who else was being interviewed. The full list of interviewed
participants can be viewed in the report under Appendix A of the report.
I have also attended
every meeting of the groundwater advisory group except one, and have spoken as
an individual during time for public comment. My remarks centered around a
request for the possibility of televising groundwater advisory board and LOTT
Board of Directors meetings for greater transparency and public education and
involvement. These comments and advisory
board responses can be viewed in the group’s meeting minutes.
Above: The "stream" outside the Hands On Children's Museum next door to the LOTT facility is created with reclaimed water and permitted as a wading pool.
