Wastewater treatment needs Valley approach

When we flush, we don’t want to think about it any more. That’s just the way we are.

But municipalities and entities in charge of maintaining wastewater treatment facilities need to think about what happens to sewage. It’s critical the effluent discharged from such facilities meets or exceeds the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s vital for all of us and our environment.

When small cities like Palmer and Wasilla grow by leaps and bounds, as these have, the increase in population puts undue pressure on existing, and sometimes aging, facilities. Add the growing concern at the Mat-Su Borough that there is no local facility that can handle the septage pumped from the growing number of septic tanks outside city limits, and the Mat-Su is rushing toward a crisis that will only be made worse when growth finally tips that critical balance between the waste we produce and the waste we can treat.

This is the case with Palmer’s facility, which in addition to planning for a growing community, has until 2011 to become complaint with new EPA standards for effluents. According to engineers, that’s no easy task with the city’s present facility. So, the city has been looking into building a new wastewater treatment plant.

That’s when someone got the bright idea that a regional wastewater treatment facility could meet not only the needs of Palmer, but of Wasilla and parts of the Borough at large. A central facility, built large enough to handle growth and with the latest treatment technology, could help safeguard our water fordecades to come.

It’s a forward-thinking idea, and we applaud the foresight it shows. There are few things more important to our quality of life here than a clean environment. With the population of the Valley projected to continue to grow by leaps and bounds (an estimated 36 percent between 2006 and 2030) for the foreseeable future, a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility isn’t just a nicety, it’s a necessity.

We realize that to coordinate building and operating a multi-municipality wastewater treatment facility will be no easy task. The logistics will likely include establishing a separate entity to administer the facility. Politics, territoriality and other tunnel-vision impediments must be set aside in favor of the good of the all.

In addition to being more efficient, a regional facility could also have a better chance at garnering state and federal funding to help offset the costs, which are preliminarily being estimated to be as much as $100 million.

Palmer’s taken the lead in opening the dialogue. We hope Wasilla, Borough and state officials will join the discussion so the idea can move forward. Palmer has little time to waste, and truth be told, neither do the rest of us when it comes to dealing with waste.