News for those who live, work and play in North Santiam Canyon

Wastewater – Sewer project aims to improve Canyon health, infrastructure

Forming a special sewer district for the upper Santiam Canyon communities of Mill City, Gates, Detroit and Idanha is moving forward.

“In 2015, Marion County put together a distressed communities event specifically focused on the lack of wastewater facilities in upper Canyon communities,” said Danielle Gonzalez, Marion County. “This lack of facilities keeps the cities from keeping businesses.”

According to the North Santiam Sewer Authority, the project will provide an opportunity for economic growth and development that has stalled these towns over the past 30 years. It will also provide safe drinking water and cleaner water downstream for communities along the Santiam River as well as the endangered fish species.

The project, according to organizers, is estimated to take five to seven years to be fully implemented and is necessary to protect the North Santiam Watershed from widespread toxic septic system failures. Water from the watershed serves more than 200,000 residents daily. 

At the Nov. 12 Mill City City Council meeting, Mayor Tim Kirsch said the city will have to do costly major upgrades to its sewer system within the next five to ten years.

“The actuators aren’t working, and this is around $100,000,” Kirsch said. “The filter is clogged with organics and needs to be replaced. The system is operating on a non-expandable Windows XP program, and if something happens to it, then we will have to address this and the associated costs.

“Any upgrades that have been done with the computer has not been included within the control panel because there is not room for it in there,” he added. “The system is on year 27 of a 25-year system.

“To participate in the sewer authority (district), the City’s debt would be absolved, the system would be upgraded, and a larger system constructed.”

Gonzalez cautioned if Mill City is not on board with the proposed district, numbers will not work because there is not enough population within the other cities to secure the needed funding for the multi-million-dollar project. Since these communities are severely economically depressed, a combination of state and federal grants, watershed fees and sewer bonds will be necessary, she said.

Gonzalez further observed that Gates has under 500 in population with available industrial land and one of the lowest tax bases in Oregon, making it nearly impossible to manage existing infrastructure. Detroit has a transient occupancy tax that goes toward maintaining infrastructure and recreation areas, but also has small parcels of land that can’t handle full septic needs to allow for businesses to open. Idanha has a lot of industrial area that could be used, especially with the changing demographics of employees who want to live in small communities.

“Each of the cities has its own unique circumstance that needs to be addressed,” Gonzalez said.

A detailed engineering and design study of the sewer project is the next step, and if all goes forward, initial estimates for individual residential users will be approximately $44 a month for sewer service. 

Gonzalez said a draft of an Intergovernmental Agreement has been provided to each city’s attorney for review. To date, Detroit and Idanha have signed the IGA.

“The IGA is a governance model so that grant funding can be sought,” Gonzalez said. “At some point in the future, Mill City will have to negotiate with its attorney because of its current sewer system.”

Marion County will draft a legal description and mapping, and the city of Salem will assist with an engineer for the Technical Advisory Committee for engineering design. The study being done for the sewer task force is expected to be complete within the next year. 

The next North Santiam Sewer Project meeting is set for 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5 at the Mill City City Hall, 444 S. 1st. Ave.. Other meetings will take place on the first Thursday of the month through March. Stakeholders, which includes local residents and property owners, are welcome to attend the meetings. 

For information, call Shelley Engle at 503-740-0296 or visit www.northsantiamsewer.net.

Economic Development Objectives

  • Address future wastewater infrastructure needs that promote quality of life, business development, resource stewardship, and regional economic resiliency
  • Develop and/or expand sewer system capacity that is viable, sustainable, and financially feasible
  • Decrease the potential health and environmental impact of individual septic tank failures
  • Enhance the local marketability of individual private lots, commercial and industrial lands
  • Diversify employment and business opportunities throughout the region
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