Welcome to the Salmon Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
Thank you for your feedback! The open house is now closed.
The Salmon Creek Treatment Plant is a vital part of the wastewater system, helping to keep our community livable and protect the environment.
We are underway with several construction projects designed to improve operations at the treatment plant and better serve the surrounding community. This online open house will provide you with an opportunity to learn more about construction activities and impacts, ask questions, and provide us with your feedback.
After visiting each page, please fill out the questionnaire and we'll send you a thank you gift.
The content of this site should take about 10 minutes to view. You may use the links below to skip to specific information or click "Get Started" above. Please participate by Friday, June 30.
= Page includes questions or opportunities for comment.
The Alliance is a regional partnership created to improve sewer service delivery through joint ownership and management of regional wastewater assets.
The Salmon Creek Treatment Plant is owned by the Discovery Clean Water Alliance, which is a partnership consisting of Clark County, the Clark Regional Wastewater District, and the cities of Battle Ground and Ridgefield. The Alliance was formed in 2013 to jointly manage wastewater infrastructure critical to the region’s economic and environmental health.
Members
- City of Battle Ground
- City of Ridgefield
- Clark County
- Clark Regional Wastewater District
Service Area Assets
- Gravity interceptors
- Pump stations
- Force mains
- Treatment plants
Graphic of map demonstrating the service areas for the Salmon Creek treatment plant (Click the image to enlarge and open in a new tab)
Providing Reliable Wastewater Service
The Salmon Creek Treatment Plant is the last part of the wastewater conveyance system. All sewer pipes and pump stations are designed with one purpose: to reliably carry wastewater from homes and businesses to the treatment plant. Wastewater is then treated to regulatory standards and released back into the environment.
The plant is an essential part of our public infrastructure. It serves over 50,000 homes and businesses in our service area. Our highest priority is keeping the plant operating to industry standards, while meeting all environmental regulations. The plant has 19 full-time staff, including managers, maintenance technicians, certified operators, and a laboratory coordinator.
To ensure the plant operates in a safe, reliable and cost-effective way, all plant operations are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through a modern, automated computerized control system. Backup generators ensure operations run consistently at all times, even in the event of a power outage. The entire perimeter of the site is fenced for safety.
In 2022, Clark Regional Wastewater District took over operations of the plant. Responsibilities include:
- Engineering and capital planning.
- Operating and maintaining the plant.
- Overseeing financial and administrative functions of the Alliance.
Aerial view of the Salmon Creek treatment plant
(Click the image to enlarge and open in a new tab)
Visit each tab below to learn about our ongoing improvements!
The Alliance is underway with several projects and will continue through 2025. These projects will require more frequent truck traffic carrying workers and materials to the treatment plant and other construction sites. Use the interactive map below to learn more about potential impacts related to construction.
Truck Traffic Routes
Construction relating to the Columbia River Outfall and Effluent Pipeline project and the Secondary Treatment Process Improvements projects will require increased truck traffic carrying materials, equipment and workers to the construction sites. This increased traffic will impact area neighborhoods. Expect increased truck traffic on the roads highlighted during the periods of construction. Any landscape disturbances made during construction will be fully restored and we will work to minimize disruptions to commercial and recreational interests.
Schedule
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This 3-year construction project will replace the 50-year-old pipeline system for treated water that runs from the Salmon Creek Treatment Plant to the Columbia River. The new pipeline system and river diffuser will improve the water quality of the river and support the surrounding ecosystems.
Benefits
- Ensure continued reliable service at a stable, affordable rate by planning for the long term and coordinating with other projects.
- Support planned growth within the community.
- Improve the water quality of the Columbia River through better mixing of treated wastewater.
- Enable future decommissioning of Ridgefield’s aging wastewater treatment plant and outfall into Lake River.
- Replace the existing river outfall diffuser currently in an area where the shoreline is unstable and threatening the current system.
- Free up near-shore migration routes for anadromous salmon and steelhead.
Image of construction work to install a new outfall diffuser in the Columbia River.
Tunneling, also called auger boring, under BNSF railroad to install the new effluent pipeline between the treatment plant and the new outfall diffuser.
Construction Activities and Impacts
We recently installed a new outfall diffuser in the Columbia River as part of this project. This new outfall diffuser replaced the old mechanism and improves water quality in the river by better mixing clean, discharged water (or effluent) from the treatment plant.
Construction is underway to install a new effluent pipeline, carrying the treated wastewater from the treatment plant to the new outfall. The project is on schedule and will continue through 2024 and into 2025. Expect increased truck traffic carrying materials and workers along NW Lower River Road, and NW Lakeshore Avenue west of I-5. Use the interactive map in the “Construction Schedule” tab above to learn more about the potential impacts related to construction and truck traffic.
Special care is being taken to make sure that the construction, installation, and operation of the replacement effluent pipeline and outfall will be environmentally sound, cost-effective, fiscally responsible, and address neighbor and ratepayer concerns. The new pipeline will require minimal energy and maintenance to operate. The existing pipeline will be retained to facilitate continuous treatment plant operation during the transition and routine maintenance.
Kayak trail impacts:Trucks carrying construction equipment and materials will use the kayak trail through 2023. During this time, trail access will be restricted. Any impact to the trail will be restored.
Graphic of kayak trail impacts
(Click the image to enlarge and open in a new tab)
As part of the Salmon Creek Treatment Plant Phase 5 projects, the Alliance will expand the biological treatment process to increase the plant’s treatment capacity from approximately 15 million gallons per day to 17.5 million gallons per day within the existing facility footprint. This will be accomplished by constructing a new Aeration Basin and Secondary Clarifier in the middle portion of the plant and an older structure will need to be demolished to make space for these new facilities. In addition to these new structures, improvements to several mechanical pumping and air supply systems will be made inside existing buildings.
Diagram of projects to increase the plant's treatment capacity
(Click the image to enlarge and open in a new tab)
Construction Activities and Impacts
Construction is underway on the Secondary Treatment Process Improvements, which includes building a new secondary clarifier and aeration basin, improvements to mechanical pumping systems, and a new perimeter fence for site security.
Expect increased truck traffic carrying materials and workers along NW Lower River Road, NW McCann Road, and NW Lakeshore Avenue west of I-5. Use the interactive map in the “Construction Schedule” tab above to learn more about the potential impacts related to construction and truck traffic.
A new perimeter fence will be installed around the treatment plant when construction occurs. The new fence is intended to create a safer, more secure environment for the treatment plant and will be constructed of black vinyl coated fence material with three strand barbed wire across the top. The fence will be 8 feet high, including the barbed wire.
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You can help protect water quality and support the sewer system by using more natural products and making some simple changes around your home.
Help protect our water quality.
Each of us plays an important role in keeping our waterways healthy. From the products we purchase to how we dispose of them, our choices impact what ends up in our water.
Learn more by watching the video and saving or printing out our handout that has easy tips for protecting our water.
(Click the image to enlarge and open in a new tab.)
Construction timelapse video
Thanks for taking an interest in the Salmon Creek Treatment Plant!
Please feel free to reach out to our staff if you have any questions.
Contact us
Visit our website: discoverycwa.org
If you visited each of the previous pages and complete the following questions, we'd love to send you a free gift! All participants will receive a magnet.
John Peterson, P.E. Executive Director of Discovery Clean Water Alliance
Clark Regional Wastewater District
(360) 993-8819
For operational questions:
Matthew Jenkins, Operations Manager
Clark Regional Wastewater District
(360) 946-7684
For long-term planning and construction projects:
Robin Krause, P.E. Principal Engineer
Clark Regional Wastewater District
(360) 719-1653
For plant information and other educational opportunities:
Leanne Mattos, Alliance Board Clerk/Administrative Services Manager
Clark Regional Wastewater District
(360) 993-8823