The state has offered millions of dollars in funding to several Cowlitz County projects as part of a larger statewide investment that put more than $300 million toward clean water in Washington.
The city of Longview got a $4.16-million loan from the state Department of Ecology to replace aging pipes at the Beacon Hill Water and Sewer plant, according to a department news release. The current pipe system on Nevada Drive was installed in the 1960s and is made primarily of corrugated metal, the department said, which is considered outdated because of how much it corrodes over time.
The loan would replace 7,360 linear feet of the pipe system with polyvinyl chloride and high-density polyethylene pipes, which are essentially made of highly durable plastic and considered much more reliable ways of transporting liquids.
In Kalama, 10,000 linear feet of pipes in downtown will be replaced with more modern versions after the city got $5.19 million from the Department of Ecology. The current pipes have sat there since the 1950s, with the money going toward adding 6- and 8-inch sewer lines in the northeast portion of downtown. The project, officials hope, will create a better infiltration and exfiltration system. The new pipes are expected to have a 75-year lifespan, according to the department.
A wastewater facility at Olequa Creek in Vader got $100,000 for better equipment, according to the state Department of Ecology. The money would fund a new treated effluent outfall diffuser, which is made of rubber and used as water filters to catch sediment or sand.
A project that went unfunded was a request from the Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group to move forward on a watershed-scale restoration at the South Fork Toutle River near Mount St. Helens. The group said the money would go toward helping salmon runs and other fish in the river, according to the department.
The Department of Ecology, through the Water Quality Combined Funding program, gave money to 125 projects total across the state. Most of the money — 90% — went to local communities for environmental and infrastructure purposes, the department said in a news release. The money for the program comes from both state and federal funds.
On the federal side, President Joe Biden in 2021 authorized the Capitalization Grant that included $36 million “focused on assisting small, financially disadvantaged communities,” the department said, and $3 million in forgivable loans to help prevent water toxicity.
