The Thurston County Board of Commissioners is considering a contract for architect-engineering services for phase one of the Grand Mound Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvement Project.
The contract, which would potentially be with Gray & Osborne, Inc. in the amount of $482,005, will be voted on at the next board meeting at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, at The Atrium in Olympia.
The project was identified in the Washington state Department of Ecology-approved Grand Mound General Sewer/Wastewater Facility Plan, which was finalized in 2024, and is the first of several identified projects that are designed to incrementally expand service capacity at the facility.
Tim Wilson, county water resources manager with the public works department, said the contract will be funded by sewer rates. Phase one of the project would upgrade the oxidation ditch at the facility, the ultraviolet disinfection system and the “solids handling” procedure, Wilson said.
He added that the contract would allow the county to “very conservatively” continue to serve the area until the mid-2030s, at which point the county would need to be in the process of phase two, which would be a second oxidation ditch.
For more information about the Grand Mound General Sewer/Wastewater Facility Plan, visit https://tinyurl.com/4ksjp33p.
The county is also considering updates to the Thurston 2045 Comprehensive Plan that would shape the future of the Grand Mound urban growth area, including updates to the housing types that can be built in Grand Mound.
Public comment opportunities will be available at the Thurston County Planning Commission public hearings on April 23 and April 26. For more information on the proposed updates, visit the virtual open house at https://tinyurl.com/2xhvks6a.
