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Lacey officials tour water plant

Councilman 'pleased' with $11.5 million project

By Christian Hill | The Olympian • Published January 07, 2009

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LACEY – City officials took a tour Tuesday of the $11.5 million water-treatment plant in Hawks Prairie.

The plant, which has been in operation since summer, is part of the city's heavy investment to secure more water to serve its growing population. The city has approved increases in customers' water rates and the one-time hookup fees charged to developers to pay for the plant and other system-wide improvements.

Teri O'Neal, senior utilities engineer for the city, explained the plant's inner workings to two members of the Lacey City Council's Utilities Committee, Deputy Mayor John Darby and Councilman Virgil Clarkson.

The plant removes ammonia, iron, manganese and sulfides, all naturally occurring contaminants found in water pumped from the deep aquifer. The water is distributed to utility customers throughout Hawks Prairie.

The plant has the capacity to treat 1,800 gallons of water a minute. It currently treats 700 gallons a minute pumped from an on-site well but will increase its production after a second well comes online. The city has drilled a test well and needs state approval for its water-rights application.

The existing well was offline for several years, until the plant started operations, because the chlorine that was introduced into the water system was oxidizing the minerals in the water and turning it different colors.

On call around the clock

The plant features a labyrinth of colored pipes and uses numerous processes to remove contaminants from the water. The plant is automated, but water-treatment plant operators are needed to check water quality, test the strength of the chlorine produced on-site, make sure equipment is properly calibrated and respond to any alarms when the plant runs into problems.

Operators are on call at all hours and have the capability to check in and fix problems at the plant remotely.

"We can log on at the house and run the treatment plant from the house," said Rick Smith, one of the plant's two main operators.

Clarkson said he was impressed with what he saw.

"I'm very, very pleased with that particular operation," he said. "I haven't heard any complaints (from residents) from a taste or quality point of view."