MOSCOW, Idaho — The city of Moscow is being asked to cool the temperature of its sewage before releasing it into a creek that flows into Washington state.
The city must cool the effluent processed in its wastewater treatment plant before releasing it into Paradise Creek to meet Washington state rules and get a permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Les McDonald, the city public works director, said the temperature of the discharge has been a problem during the summer months. Moscow is near the Washington border.
McDonald told The Moscow-Pullman Daily News the two best options are installing a chiller or directing the discharge into nearby wetlands before it flows into the creek.
Experts have told the city the chilling method is easier to control, he said.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty in a natural system,” McDonald said.
At a meeting Monday of the City Council’s Public Works/Finance Committee, Councilman Walter Steed asked whether the wetlands are a viable site to test the method. McDonald replied the site is used by another party and isn’t “as vibrant as it used to be.”
Factors to be taken into account for choosing a cooling solution include short-term and long-term costs of each alternative, McDonald said.
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Information from: The Moscow-Pullman Daily News, http://www.dnews.com
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