Lakehaven Water and Sewer pays $29,000 fine, upgrades disinfection system

The Lakehaven Water and Sewer District is doing performance testing on a new $3.5 million ultraviolet light disinfection system after water violations cost them $29,000 in penalties this January.

In the Washington Department of Ecology’s quarterly report, officials said Lakehaven failed to meet pollution discharge limits in its water quality permit at the Lakota Wastewater Treatment Plant. The violations occurred between June 2015 and August 2016.

The plant informed ecology of 29 total violations, including the presence of fecal coliform, an indicator of bacteria and pathogens; total suspended solids, a measurement of fine-sized particles; and total residual chlorine, a disinfectant.

“The pollution limits in the plant’s permit protect public health and Puget Sound,” said Heather Bartlett, Ecology’s water quality program manager, in a news release. “While the district is taking steps to fix the problems, the extent of the violations is the concern.”

Bacteria can place people’s health at risk, while high solids can indicate turbidity which can harm fish gills. Chlorine can be toxic to aquatic life.

The facility discharges the treated wastewater to Dumas Bay in Puget Sound and serves 70,000 people.

Lakehaven’s general manager John Bowman said, however, the treated water, while slightly above permit levels, wasn’t harmful to human health as the water is discharged about a quarter of a mile offshore.

Bowman said Lakehaven was self-reporting the issues to Ecology and working to find a solution. Lakehaven adjusted the chemical mixture added to improve the removal of suspended solids. Staff also improved the handling of solids as they’re removed from wastewater and added a chlorine disinfection and post-treatment de-chlorination to “temporarily augment an aging ultraviolet light disinfection system.”

Ecology officials said they saw only “partial success” with Lakehaven’s efforts, however, and issued the penalties.

“We were having some difficulties with our UV light system used to disinfect,” Bowman said, adding that Lakehaven was in the design phases of planning a new system at the time.

The violations sped up the process, and Lakehaven purchased its new system in April. Bowman said the new system will hopefully last 20 years.

The $29,000 penalty Lakehaven paid will go toward the state’s Coastal Protection Fund, which issues grants to public agencies and tribes for water quality restoration projects. While the penalty may be appealed to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board, Bowman said Lakehaven will not do that.

“The district takes its obligation to safeguard the environment very seriously,” Bowman said in a statement. “In addition to investing in substantial near-term infrastructure improvements to enhance plant performance, we remain committed to working closely with the Department of Ecology and our consultants to manage our two treatment plants in full compliance with the discharge permits issued for their operation.”

Lakehaven, based in Federal Way, provides water and sewer services for residents in parts of Auburn, Des Moines, Kent, Milton, Tacoma and all of Federal Way. It has been operating since 1956.

For more information, visit www.lakehaven.org.