WATER Q U A L I T Y CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT A COMPREHENSIVE POLLUTION CONTROL PROGRAM DEVELOPED BY THE FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION ------- OOOR67117 SUMMARY OF: WATER QUALTY CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION NORTHWEST REGION, PORTLAND, OREGON ANUARY 1967 LIBRARY Oept. of the Interior EWBG& Eufcmi, N. J. 08817. ------- JAMES M. QUIGLEY, Commissioner Federal Water Pollution Control Administration U. S. Department of the Interior Each summer the Willamette River becomes polluted. This splendid river, whose watershed supports two-thirds of Oregon's population and provides an equal proportion of its industrial output, suffers recurrently from mas- sive outpourings of untreated industrial wastes. The effects of this pollution have been severe. The Willamette has largely been rejected as a source of water supply, and communities along its banks have had to develop other, and more costly, sources. Recreation has been curtailed, with many parks posted against swimming and the whole river below the city of Eugene ex- ceeding Pacific Northwest Pollution Control Council bacterial objectives for water-contact recreation. Fish production has declined, as the natural habitat for trout has shrunk, and as passage conditions and spawning areas for that large portion of the Pacific salmon run that is based upon the Willamette have deteriorated with the persistence of pollution. These conditions have existed for more than three decades. Gradual progress has been made in pollution abatement as a result of institution of waste treatment and summer flow augmentation from Federal storage res- ervoirs; but at the same time the magnitude of pollution sources has ad- vanced. Industrial expansion, population growth, and urbanisation have all acted to increase wastes and to offset much of the progress that has occurred. In 1961 the Water Supply and Pollution Control Division of the Public Health Service began a comprehensive study of water quality in the Columbia River Basin. The study, continued under the Federal Water Pollution Con- trol Administration, has included considerable emphasis on the Willamette Basin, since it contains the clearest and most significant instances of water pollution found in the Columbia Basin. This is a summary of the Willamette River Basin report which contains a detailed analysis of the nature and extent of pollution, its cause, what may be done to abate it and prevent its recur- rence, and what it will cost to control it. The course of action recommended in that report is based upon the de- cision of the people of Oregon—a decision manifested by the repeated pronouncements of its public officials and by legislative enactments going back to the Act of 1938 creating a state agency with responsibility for control of water pollution—-that the waters of the Willamette system are to be fit habitats for salmonid fish, suitable sources of recreation, and usable water supplies. These are demanding goals, in terms of water quality, but no lesser goals have ever been publicly advanced. Unfortunately the public and private actions needed to fulfill these goals have not always been forthcoming. This report sets forth a plan for such actions. Whether this plan will achieve its purpose is also a decision which rests largely with the people of Oregon. ------- N I The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U S. C. 466 et seq.) contains among its provisions a direction to the Secretary of the Interior to develop comprehensive programs for controlling pollution of interstate waters and their tributaries. This docu- ment is an interpretive summary of a report present- ing such a program for Oregon's Willamette River. The major report, Water Quality Control and Man- agement. Willamette River Basin, presents the re- sults of a painstaking study of the water quality of the Willamette River system, the uses of the river system, the factors that affect water quality, the probable nature of the economic development of the watershed and its impact on water quality, and the nature of measures that must be taken both to abate pollution in the river system and to prevent recurrence of pollution. While the report was pre- pared by the Federal Water Pollution Control Ad- ministration, which bore the major responsibility for developing the study, a number of Federal and Ore- gon State and local agencies provided important assistance in collecting and analyzing data. In particular, the Oregon State Sanitary Authority ac- cepted a very large role in developing both infor- mation and concepts. This summary report is focused on the presenta- tion of the principal findings of the study as they relate to requirements for action to control pollu- tion. It emphasizes that pollution does exist in the Willamette River system, that pulp and paper mills that have been subject to less stringent waste con- trol requirements than municipalities and other sources of waste are the major causes of pollution, that pollution abatement will require immediate im- provements in the level of waste reduction achieved in the Willamette River system, and that the con- tinuing control of pollution will impose demands for action well into the future upon the people and industries of the Willamette River Basin, as well as upon the State and Federal agencies that serve them ------- IMMEDIATE POLLUTION ABATEMENT IThe primary need for abatement of existing water pollution m the Willamette River Basin should be met by installation and • operation of waste reduction facilities for pulping and papermaking that provide efficiencies equal to those of conventional secondary waste treatment essential removal of floating and settleable solids and reduction of at least 85% of biochemical oxygen demand Such facilities should be made available within the next five years at the plants operated by Publishers Paper Company at Oregon City and Newberg, Crown Zellerbach Corporation at West Linn and Lebanon, and Boise Cascade Corporation at Salem 2 Effective secondary treatment should be installed within the next five years by those communities which do not provide or are • not presently constructing such plants; and waste treatment facilities of communities operating plants that are outmoded or overloaded should be brought up to generally accepted standards for secondary treatment of waste. Communities that require secondary treatment are Albany, Cottage Grove, Harnsburg, Junction City, Monroe, and Oakridge. In the category of communities operating inadequate plants are Dallas, Mount Angel, McMmnville, Sweet Home, and the Fanno Creek Sanitary District. 3 The State of Oregon should proceed to adopt standards, as required by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, for that por- • tion of the Willamette River that is interstate water in that it is subject to tidal influences. Oregon standards for the major portion of the river that is mtrastate should be compatible with the interstate standards, in the interest of protecting water uses and devel- oping a firm and consistent pollution control program Standards should clearly recognize the importance of the river system as a spawning area for anadromous salmonid fish and support the expansion of recreational and water supply capabilities of the basin's waters. LONG TERM POLLUTION CONTROL "I The State of Oregon should encourage and provide assistance m development of institutional arrangements that bring appro- *-• pnate communities, industries, and metropolitan areas together for the purpose of planning and financing pollution control measures within the framework provided by drainage areas £\ Reallocation of functions of the Federal reservoir system in the Willamette River Basin, to be considered in 1970 upon com- pletion of a joint State of Oregon-Federal agencies study of water and related land resources of the basin, should recognize the overlapping benefits to water quality, fishery, and recreation that me obtainable with maintenance of summer base flows of at least 7.500 cubic feet°per second through Portland harbor, 260 cubic feet per seronrl IP the lower Tualatin River, and 100 cubic feet per second in the South Santiam River below Lebanon 3 The State of Oregon should establish limits for waste loads m intensively used watersheds Such limits should reflect charac- • teristics of wastes, minimum streamflow probabilities and quality of waste control techniques available within the watershed. 4 Data gathering and monitoring activities of the Oregon Stato Sanitary Authority and of the Federal Water Pollution Control • Administration should be coordinated and expanded to maintain intimate knowledge of waste loadings treatment plant effi- ciencies, streamflows, and reservoir operations, in order that such information may bo utili/ed in mathematical simulations of the river system as planning tools and instruments of day to day w.itrr qu.ihty management 5 Programs of Federal resource management agencies oper.itmc] m the Willamette River Basin should be periodically reviewed • by the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration for possible imports on water quality, with the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration and the several agencies jointly developing and monitoring effects of procedures to avoid adverse jmpacts. and coordinating such programs with Oregon State and local watershed organizations' pollution control plans. ------- I. POLLUTION PROBLEMS One of the most serious conditions of water pollution in the Pacific Northwest oc- curs in the lower reaches of Oregon's Wil- lamette River. Marked pollution also exists in two major Willamette tributaries, the South Santiam River and the Tualatin River. In each case pollution's effects on water uses are severe and persistent, recurring with varying intensity each summer Of the three instances of water pollution, the most significant, in terms of volume of water affected and restriction of water uses, is that of the lower Willamette River. During a portion of each summer dissolved oxygen concentrations fall below the level which can support indigenous species of game fish in Portland harbor—the reach of the river that extends from a point below the confluence with the Clackamas River to the mouth. The same area also exhibits year- round growths of shmelike bacteria (Sphae- rotilus), bottom sludges, and floating sludge rafts. The conditions are due in large meas- ure to the discharge of untreated wastes of pulp and paper mills operated by Crown Zellerbach Corporation at West Linn and by Publishers Paper Company at Oregon City and Newberg. Pollution of the South Santiam River is similar to that of the lower Willamette in its manifestation and its causes. Waste dis- charges of the small Crown Zellerbach pulp mill at Lebanon cause slime growths, sludges, and dissolved oxygen deficiencies during the period of low summer flow The Lebanon mill treats its wastes by removing ------- the major portion of strong pulping wastes Treatment is, however, inadequate to sustain desired water quality. Pollution of the Tualatin River is caused by the heavy degree of development that is imposed on the limited resources of the watershed. The normal low summer stream- flows are further reduced by irrigation with- drawals, and the wastes of a number of com- munities and industries are discharged into the river. The Tualatin Basin supports a prin- cipal suburban area of the city of Portland; and the density of population results in a level of waste production that periodically exceeds the assimilative capabilities of the stream, even after treatment removes more than 90 percent of oxygen-consuming wastes. Urban and agricultural runoff con- tribute additional nutrients and organic wastes, adding to intense algal activity which compounds the problem. II. POLLUTION DAMAGES Extremely high water quality is required by uses that are made of the waters of the Willamette River system. Municipal and in- dustrial water supply, production of salm- onid fish (salmon and trout), and recreation constitute prime uses of the Willamette's waters; and each can be curtailed, made more costly, or eliminated entirely by the ex- istence of pollution. All of these uses are presently restricted in some measure by pollution. Bacterial contamination limits the sources for domestic, municipal, and food processing water supplies. Numbers of available recreation areas have been con- stricted by the presence of excessive bac- terial concentrations. Interference with sport fishing has resulted from pollution-caused limitation of fish environments, and by the nuisance to both fishing and boating im- posed by Sphaeroti/us. Fish production is impeded by dissolved oxygen deficiencies and by sometimes high temperatures. It is the damage to the fishery that is most costly. Water supplies can be treated prior to use, and alternative recreational sources are available—though both substitutions in- volve increases in user costs. There is no alternative source of salmon and trout. Where production of either is curtailed, it represents a diminution of an intensively used total supply. Since all migratory salmon utilizing the Willamette system must pass through the polluted lower reaches of the Willamette twice during their life cycle, the condition of Portland harbor represents a critical limitation on the productive capacity of the entire river system Dissolved oxygen requirements for pas- sage of salmon are not nearly so high as for spawning, which requires near saturation of dissolved oxygen, or rearing which requires a concentration of seven milligrams per liter Salmon passage may be readily accom- plished with a dissolved oxygen con- centration of five milligrams per liter. Unfortunately, summer dissolved oxygen concentrations in Portland harbor often fall below three milligrams per liter While no upstream migration of salmon presently oc- curs during the summer, untimely low flows and consequent oxygen deficiency some- times result in an "oxygen block" that pre- vents the latter stages of the spring migra- tion upstream, or delays the start of the fall migration. In either situation, the spawning population is reduced by predation and other causes, with an adverse effect on produc- tion. Effect of the summer dissolved oxygen deficiency is more serious in the case of downstream migration of juvenile fish. The downstream migration goes on throughout the year; and a high mortality is believed to '•*$ rfJ 11 Characteristically muddied by the su'ljt flows and surface runoff caused by heavy winter rains, the entering waters of the Willamette contrast sharply with the receiving Columbia ------- occur among downstream migrants as a re- sult of pollution in the Portland harbor. III. DIFFICULTIES OF ABATEMENT While the State of Oregon has recognized the fish production, water supply, and rec- reational uses of the Willamette River sys- tem in its classification of streams, and has adopted a program of pollution abatement designed to protect those functions of the watershed, its program has not been ade- quate to restore necessary quality to the river. The Oregon pollution control program has been most effective in reducing bacterial concentrations, by encouraging the commu- nities of the basin to develop waste treat- ment. It has not dealt successfully with problems of summer oxygen depletion, sludges, and slime growths Pollution reme- dies have met with limited success because of two weaknesses lack of control of pulp mill waste discharges, and lack of depend- able summer streamflow There are seven pulp mills in the Willam- ette system Six discharge their wastes directly into the Willamette River, and one discharges wastes into the South Santiam River With two exceptions, these mills use the sulfite pulping process and do not re- cover cooking chemicals by condensing and burning wastes, as do plants utilizing the more modern sulfate, or kraft, process 50,000 30,000 -. I 0,000 Q_ o too ISO I6O 140 120 (00 80 60 40 RIVER MilES (FROM MOUTH) 10 » 9- 8-| CD 5 o 6- O 5- 3- 180 ISO 140 !20 100 80 60 4O RtYER HUES (FROM MOUTH) 20 The bacteriological qualit\ of most reaches of the Willamette filter is unsatisfactory for u-at e r - con t (if t recreation .Vote, however, that concentrations haie been louered since 196'2 through the completion of secondary uaste treatment facilities along the main stem. The deterioration oj dissolved oxygen concentrations of the Willamette that occurs in the slow-moving loirer river is indi- cated by this profile The depression becomes critical when, as in the summer of 1965, / I o y.' is reduced ------- Since something over half of the wood in- puts in pulping are, by the nature of the process, discarded as waste, enormous quantities of organic waste materials are generated in the production of pulp. Of some 6.2 million population equivalents of oxygen- demanding wastes produced in the Willam- ette River Basin, 70 percent—about 4.5 million population equivalents—occurs from pulp and paper production. And of the 4.9 million population equivalents of wastes that enter the Willamette River system after ap- plication of waste control measures, over 90 percent is from pulping and papermakmg. The State of Oregon has required a high level of waste treatment for municipalities of the basin; and, for the most part, they have responded to the State's demands. Of 91 communities in the Willamette River water- shed, 74 provide secondary waste treatment or its equivalent, seven do not collect wastes, only one does not treat its wastes, and nine—including the largest city, Portland —have primary treatment Food processing plants, as a group, provide a high level of waste reduction, in large part through use of joint municipal-industrial treatment facili- ties. Miscellaneous manufacturing plants do not match the waste treatment performance of municipalities or food processors, but neither do they constitute significant waste sources. In distinction to other waste producers, the pulp and paper industry, the major source of wastes, has largely resisted the State of Oregon's efforts to enforce effec- tive pollution abatement procedures. Only three of the seven mills achieve a reduction of their wastes discharges. The huge Weyer- 2000n UJ CO b o o I500- 1000- LU 800 CO 700- | 600- 500- 400- 300- 200- IOO- L MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTES WILLAMETTE RIVER BASIN Number of Plants Population Served Population Equiva lents Untreated Discharged Removal Efficiency PRESENT MUNICIPAL WASTE TREATMENT: Secondary Prirnaryl/ Lagoon Other Subtotal Port land (pr i mary) Basin Total 66 8 8 8 90 1 91 323,125 36,350 5,390 1,000 366,715 370.000 736,715 1,026,720 140,950 5,410 350 1,174,930 385.000 1,559,930 229,550 96,880 940 350 328,450 328,450 PRESENT INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT: Food products Forest products Pulp and paper M i see I I aneous Basin Total 13 20 9 5 49 134,550 22,950 4,491,400, 38.8503' 4,687,750 4,100^ 9,690 1,074,060 29,0905/ 1,116,910 I/ Excluding Portland, which discharges to the Columbia River. 2/ Primary effluent to Columbia River. 3/ Refers only to summer period and reflects removal by lagoon storage, land application, and barging. It/ Excludes 720,000 PE untreated and 207,000 discharged wastes treated by municipal plants. 5/ Includes Portland harbor. UJ _J cn QL o o eo m Discharged to Stream Removed by temporary Lagooning 8 Barging Removed by Continuous ment H Treat, **•! %—\ ^Im-L ^ CD UJ ? o a: => Q- LJ *,„, Samcs 78 32 83 0 72 79 97 58 745/ 7 75 Waste production is concentrated in four areas. With the exception of the palp and paper industry, which relies partly on storage or transportation of wastes, a high /Pie/ of waste reduction is achieved by most waste sources. ------- Four Willamette Basin pulp mills store their wastes in holding ponds--like this one at \\est Linn--during the summer Untreated wastes are discharged when streamflow rises. haeuser Company plant at Springfield is one of the most efficient mills in the industry in terms of the ratio of discharged wastes to production: a kraft mill that condenses and burns its strong pulping wastes, the plant also provides primary and secondary treat- ment of residual wastes, recycles process waters to reduce wastes, and utilizes sum- mer spray irrigation to dispose of a portion of its waste stream during periods of low streamflow The Western Kraft Corporation plant at Albany, another kraft mill, also pro- vides primary treatment and some beneficial recycling of process waters. The Crown Zel- lerbach Corporation plant at Lebanon, a sul- fite mill, evaporates and dries or burns strong pulping liquors during the summer. No treatment is presently provided by sul- fite pulp mills at Salem, Newberg, Oregon City, and West Linn Until recently, the State of Oregon was willing to accept storage or transport of a portion of the concentrated wastes of these plants during the low flow period as a substitute for treatment, a marked departure from its stringent policy toward other waste sources. The State initi- ated in 1965 the policy of requiring primary treatment by these mills, in order to reduce the organic solids that result in sludges and provide attachments and nutrients for Sphaerotilus. Primary treatment, however, effects little reduction m oxygen demand; and strong wastes will continue to be dis- charged to the river after primary treatment facilities have been installed. The Willamette is a large river, and through most of the year it has a flow suf- ficient to absorb even the enormous waste discharges of pulp and paper production yet maintain acceptable dissolved oxygen lev- els. In summer, however, streamflow drops sharply, and with it the assimilative capacity of the river. A number of Federal reservoirs have been constructed in the upper basin since World War II. Releases from these, for purposes other than water quality control, have relieved the burden upon summer as- similative capacity by supplementing natural streamtlow. Without such releases severe nuisance conditions, and often complete oxygen depletion, would occur in Portland harbor each summer. Oregon's pollution control program is based to a large degree upon the operation of these reservoirs Al- lowable waste discharges for pulp mills and treatment requirements for municipalities have been predicated upon maintenance of a navigation flow of 5,500 cubic feet per sec- ond at Salem Unfortunately, flows for pollution control are not specifically provided in the author- ization of these reservoirs. Pollution control benefits have occurred incidentally to reser- voir releases for navigation And in the oper- ation of the reservoirs, power generating schedules, flood control needs, and reser- voir recreation have sometimes conflicted with pollution control requirements. Water needed in summer for water quality control can, in a dry year, be held in reservoirs in order to provide for fall power-generation. ------- IV. POLLUTION ABATEMENT REQUIREMENTS Abatement of the pollution of the Willam- ette River in Portland harbor and of the South Santiam River depends primarily up- on reducing the strength of wastes from pulp and paper plants The paramount need for effective pollution control in the Willamette River Basin is a major reduction of the con- centrated wastes of sulfite pulping—either through an evaporation and burning proced- ure similar to that of kraft pulping or through treatment that provides equivalent waste reduction Primary treatment of wastes is also essential at the five pulp mills that do not provide it This level of treatment of pulping wastes is essential both for its direct impact in re- ducing pollution sources, and as a precon- dition for securing flow releases from Fed- eral storage reservoirs. By the terms of the enabling legislation, allocation of storage in Federal reservoirs for the purpose of aug- menting water quality may be made only where "adequate treatment or other meth- ods of controlling wastes" is provided; and Process Sulfi'a ,-b ' p> is Sul'asc p d I p 'n g Groundwood o u I p i n [bleached, refiner) Pass rfflak J sig 1A1 Expectable w/Treatment Ibs BOO WASTE PER TON OF PRODUCT 50 10 15 5 Killamette Basin Mills, 1965 Ibs BOO 550(5 sulfite miiis) 11 !2 suIfate mil's) 20(2 groundKootj mills) 14(6 paper miils) the present level of pulp mill waste treat- ment is inadequate. Reallocation of storage in existing Willamette Basin reservoirs to provide dependable streamflows for water quality control is being considered by an interagency task force studying water and related land resources of the Willamette River Basin. It is unlikely, however, that stor- age for this purpose can be provided until all pulp mills—and the several communities that do not provide secondary treatment of their wastes—meet the waste treatment re- quirement. V. CONTINUING POLLUTION CONTROL Abatement of existing pollution will not insure maintenance of the water quality de- sired in the Willamette River system. Pollu- tion control needs will continue to occur; and a long term program that anticipates those needs offers opportunities for major economies in resource utilization. Such a program should avert the social costs of a recurrence of pollution, while foreseeing and scheduling pollution control require- ments. Waste treatment will remain the major ele- ment in pollution control in the Willamette River Basin. The area is expected to experi- ence population and industrial growth at rates exceeding that of the rest of Oregon or of the United States as a whole. Provid- ing treatment for wastes resulting from such expansion, as well as replacing existing waste treatment facilities as they become 8 ------- Weyerhaeuser Company's pulp ana paper plant at Springfield provides a high degree of waste reduction Concentrated pulping liquors are condensed and burned for recovery of cooking chemicals (smokestacks at rear). Fibers and other solids are settled out in the two small ponds near the center of the picture Residual wastes are held up to five days in the large lagoon, where aerators beat added oxygen into the waters to facilitate waste decomposition. jucttiiuce waste obsolete, will represent a continuing respon- sibility. Analysis of projected waste produc- tion and distribution indicates that for the most part secondary waste treatment will— with a slight increase in average treatment efficiency—adequately protect water quality. In the Tualatin River Basin, however, the magnitude of anticipated waste loads, even if recommended storage for quality control is provided, suggests that advanced waste treatment must be provided by municipali- ties and industries by the early 1970's. Simi- larly, pulp and paper mills, because they represent such significant waste sources, may be expected to provide something simi- lar to conventional secondary waste treat- ment, in addition to primary treatment and reduction of concentrated pulping liquors. Flow regulation for quality control is a needed supplement to waste treatment. Storage should be provided at a variety of sites, in order to meet the streamflow needs of tributaries as well as those of Portland harbor; and drafts on storage should be scheduled in a manner that makes most efficient use of water and of storage ca- pacity. In addition to needs that relate to physical facilities, effective, economic pollution con- trol requires a number of institutional and procedural practices to effectuate continu- ing surveillance and control of water quality in the Willamette River system. The immedi- ate need in this regard is the expansion and implementation of Oregon's stream stand- ards for the Willamette River system in a manner that clearly defines water quality required to serve appropriate functions of the river, stream reach by stream reach. Such standards are required by Federal law for that portion of the river which is defined to be interstate water, by reason of its ex- posure to tidal influence. Standards for the major part of the river system which is wholly intrastate should obviously be compatible with the interstate standard. Adjudication of water rights to permit establishment (by the Oregon Water Re- sources Board) of inviolable base flows m critical reaches of certain streams will be necessary if drafts on storage are to be a dependable controlling factor. Systematic monitoring and reporting of water quality, streamflow, and effluent characteristics must be provided, both to provide a continu- ing overview of water quality conditions and to permit use of predictive mathematical techniques that facilitate decision-making for water quality protection. Federal agency programs should be reviewed periodically by the Federal Water Pollution Control Ad- ministration for incorporation of procedures to safeguard water quality against possible adverse impacts. Reservoir scheduling should be available to provide streamflows, as needs are indicated by monitoring and surveillance of the river system, in order to make optimal use of water and storage ca- pacity of the multi-purpose reservoir system. Measures to increase efficiency of waste treatment plant operation by providing in- centives and training to plant operators, methods to control waste discharges of ves- sels and houseboats, to control erosion from land management practices, and to pre- ------- vent toxic materials from entering surface waters should be devised and used at the earliest date Research and development needs also exist. These can be approached through ex- isting national programs of pollution control research, since the pollution problems of the basin are not unique to the area. In the Wil- lamette Basin, research requirements center largely upon methods to control urban and forest land drainage and stormwater over- flows. In the area of social and institutional prac- tices, it would be desirable to develop mech- anisms for pollution-control institutions that are based upon the circumstances of water- sheds The Clean Waters Restoration Act of 1966 offers considerable Federal incentive opportunities for development of such insti- tutions, recognizing the efficiencies to be derived in scheduling and cooperative financing of waste collection and treatment facilities and in orderly development and implementation of pollution control plans. VI. COST OF POLLUTION ABATEMENT AND CONTROL Costs of pollution abatement and sus- tained pollution control will not be small. Estimates of the cost of measures required to end existing pollution and to provide a level of waste treatment that meets the re- quirements of the Oregon State Sanitary Authority and the "adequate treatment" standard required for allocation of storage in Federal reservoirs indicate that about $40 million must be invested in waste collection and treatment facilities over the next five 10 ------- ASSUMED SCHEDULE OF REQUI RED WASTE TREATMENT INVESTMENTS 40- Investment to provide ade- quate treat- ment leve I s Expans i on and replacement, including ca- pac i ty for 25 year growth irt* to sfcata exfsl- 1966-70 1971-75 1976-80 1981-85 years. Roughly a third of the amount—an estimated $14 million—will be required from pulp and paper mills, for installation of treat- ment for removal of settleable solids and reduction in strength of pulping liquors. An- other $12 million is attributed to the comple- tion of an interceptor sewer by the city of Portland, in order to end the discharge of a portion of its untreated wastes to the Wil- lamette River. About $14 million must be spent to provide secondary waste treatment to municipal and industrial wastes from sev- eral sources, and to increase the standard of efficiency in the several municipal treatment systems that are overloaded or otherwise inadequate. Waste treatment construction costs will persist after adequate treatment is available. Expansion of waste production and obso- lescence of treatment facilities will, as time passes, result in continuing pressures on treatment capabilities Calculations of in- vestment requirements have been projected. These are based on the application of exist- ing technology, 1965 price levels, deprecia- tion schedules based on twenty-five year treatment plant life, and regional allocations of projected population and industrial out- put. The cost projections indicate that an additional $65 million will have to be spent- including $8.5 million for advanced waste treatment in the Tualatin River Basin and $19.0 million for additional treatment of pulp and paper wastes—to maintain an effective level of waste treatment through the year 1985. Because of the assumed twenty-five year operating life of such facilities, the ma- jor portion of waste treatment investments through the year 2010 is assumed to be designed into the cost projection. 11 ------- In sum, then, the communities and indus- tries of the Willamette River Basin can antici- pate the need to expend about $105 million (1965 dollars) for waste treatment during the two decades between 1965 and 1985. About forty percent of this amount must be spent over the next five years if abatement of exist- ing pollution is to be achieved at the earliest date. Because prevailing practice dictates that treatment plant and sewer capacity be designed to accommodate anticipated ex- pansion of waste loads, the incidence of costs may be expected to decline markedly once adequate waste treatment capabilities have been installed, then to climb again in the 1980's as facilities that were built during the late 1950's and early 1960's have to be replaced. While pulp and paper mills will have to bear almost a third of the total anticipated cost of waste treatment, the other two-thirds will be spread unevenly among the mdivid- aul communities and industries of the basin. In many cases these costs may be expected to constitute a considerable burden. Antici- pation of such costs should assist munici- palities to meet them in an orderly fashion; and Federal grants for treatment plant con- struction will be a major aid in meeting waste treatment requirements of communities — and, indirectly, of those industries which utilize cooperative municipal-industrial treat- ment works. Watershed pollution control arrangements could serve a function in eas- ing financial burdens of communities, both by providing expertise in scheduling con- struction requirements and by spreading the incidence of costs Other cost elements, too, must be in- curred in meeting pollution-control require- ments. Reservoir storage capacity having a value in excess of $20 million will be pro- vided by the Federal government, if alloca- tion of storage to provide recommended base streamflows is granted. It is estimated that roughly a million dollars will be required to completely adjudicate existing water rights in order to provide dependable base streamflows for legitimate water uses, in- cluding water quality control. Funds must also be invested in monitoring equipment to provide a knowledge of the day-to-day qual- ity, and influences on quality, of the river system. ------- ------- |