SWINOMISH—The Swinomish Tribal Community recently replaced its aging sewer treatment plant with a state-of-the-art facility that increases the wastewater processing capacity at least three times, ensuring that tribal lands along Highway 20 are ripe for retail development.
The $2.5 million “membrane” system is also better for the environment, resulting in water that could be used for irrigation, said Tim White, tribal housing and utilities operations manager. The solid waste product is taken to La Conner where it is sold as compost.
With the ability to handle between three and six times the wastewater the old plant used to process, the new plant gives the tribe plenty of capacity to attract new businesses to the land it owns along Highway 20.
Except for a proposal to build a marina, Swinomish tribal leaders don’t have specific plans for the 600 acres south of Highway 20, said Marty Loesch, tribal attorney and spokesman. That land is zoned for tribal economic development.
“If someone who comes to us with an idea, we’d certainly take a look at it,” Loesch said. “We don’t have any specific use in mind.”
Still, Swinomish leaders think retail development would suit the area and benefit the tribe, Loesch said. That’s one of several reasons they replaced the aging sewer system that served the Northern Lights Casino with a system that had greater capacity.
“When you’re looking at the future, you don’t just want to build it for today,” Loesch said. “You want to build it for things you can’t even imagine.”
The new system can handle up to an average of 50,000 gallons a day and up to 75,000 gallons for short periods, White said. At present, the plant processes about average 8,000 gallons a day during the week, increasing to 12,000 gallons of waste water on the weekend.
The old plant had been pushed to the limit on weekends, White said. The new system can be easily expanded by adding additional units, he said.
The two sewer lagoons from the old plant — built in the mid-1970s and covering about 1 1/2 acres — were filled in June and will become a parking lot for the casino.
“We’ve had a desperate need for parking for a long time,” Loesch said.
That, combined with the fact that the lagoons needed costly upgrades, caused the tribe to look at other options. Tulalip Tribes had recently installed a membrane system at its Quil Ceda Village property. A series of dozens of “membranes” made of plastic filters stretched over frames are used to screen the wastewater. The system eliminates one of the steps in conventional sewer plants and, while more expensive to install, is less expensive to operate over the life of the system, according to researchers who’ve studied the system.
Swinomish leaders liked what they heard about the membrane system and purchased one from Kubota Corp. in Japan, Loesch said. Keeping with the greener theme, tribal leaders decided to install porous pavement — which helps filter contaminates, such as oil dripping from cars, from stormwater — in the new parking lot.
Waste treatment
Inside the two-story-tall metal building housing the membrane sewage treatment system, White pointed to his touch-screen computer menu, demonstrating how he and another employee control the plant. There is also a back-up system which allows for quick adjustments in case of a computer crash.
The waste water flows through various tanks and at each stage it can be tested for various chemicals, including high levels of grease, which can interfere with the plant’s process. At various points in the process, chemical tests are regularly performed on samples to ensure the microbes are doing what they should, White said.
Early in the process, the waste is screened for items that might have accidentally been flushed.
“I’m always looking for a diamond ring” White quipped.
Membrane and conventional wastewater treatment plants use a combination of air and microbes that White calls “bugs” to break down the bacteria in raw sewage. Basically, the good bugs eat bad bacteria, such as fecal coliform.
After the microbes are added to the slurry, the waste goes through a tank filled with rows of the membranes, a total of 400.
Each membrane is made of a frame covered with two plastic sheets. Air flows into each frame causing the two sheets to vibrate. Like stirring a solution, the movement increases the contact that wastewater particles have with the microbes that eat the harmful bacteria. The membranes also filter the solids and harmful bacteria from the water.
As a final step, the water is passed through a pipe where an ultraviolet light, strong enough to blind, shines on the liquid as passes through a pipe. Tests at the plant indicate that the fecal coliform, a bacteria found in feces, is removed before the water gets to the station that exposes it to the UV light, White said.
The water flows into ponds north of the plant where it gradually seeps into the earth. The tribe is applying for a permit to pipe the water directly into Padilla Bay.
Every two weeks about 5,000 gallons of solid waste is removed from the plant and shipped to La Conner where it is formed into cakes and sold as compost, White said. The tribe and the town shared the cost of the sewer treatment plant, which serves homes and businesses on the reservation across the Swinomish Channel from La Conner, as well as the town.
Economic future
Some property owners outside of the reservation say they worry the expansion of the Swinomish sewage treatment capacity on Highway 20 could place the tribe in a better position to compete for retail business than Anacortes, the tribe’s neighbor to the west. That’s because the Anacortes City Council in recent years has nixed proposals to rezone the land along the highway to allow retail development.
Some property owners in the area say that means the city won’t be able to compete with the tribe and could lose out on future sale tax revenue that the 16,700-resident community needs.
But Anacortes Mayor Dean Maxwell didn’t seem worried. That’s in part because Washington state has adopted a new method of distributing sales tax. Starting this summer, Anacortes will receive sales tax for large goods, such as appliances, sold outside the city limits to Anacortes residents. That means there is less of a need for communities to compete for retail business.
“It eliminates some of that concern for the future,” Maxwell said.
Even so, Maxwell said Anacortes needs to attract more retailers so residents won’t have to shop outside the community, especially as gas prices soar.
The tribe’s marina proposal — which Anacortes leaders say they support — is on hold because of economic factors, Loesch said. Tribal leaders also have considered expanding Northern Lights, including the possibility adding a hotel in the future, but at present, there are no plans to do so, Loesch said.
“We want to be confident we have the timing right as far as the economy,” Loesch said.
Still, rumors persist that Swinomish has big plans for the area, including bringing in Wal-Mart or some other big-box retailer. But tribal officials say that’s just not true. Additionally, this summer Wal-Mart will start building a store in Mount Vernon’s River Bend area.
Future retail development on Swinomish land could complement Anacortes’ economy, said Mitch Everton, Anacortes Chamber of Commerce executive director.
But without knowing what developers might propose and what the tribe might accept, there’s no way to determine what the end result would mean to the region’s economy, he said.
Once the tribe proceeds with its marina plans — which could take a number of years because of the permitting process — it could bring business to Anacortes boat builders, suppliers and marine repair services.
“Boating, in general, is a major, major driver in Anacortes,” Everton said.
A hotel or anything associated with hospitality also could complement the region’s economy, he said. Everton declined to speculate on types of businesses that would detract from the city’s economy.
“Something that would not have a competitive issue now could easily become a competitive issue in four or five years,” he said.
• Marta Murvosh can be reached at 360-416-2149 or .
