Jefferson County

Amount Appropriated?

$3.0M

FFID tracks stages 1–2 — stages 3–5 vary by agency, assistance type, and earmark structure.

Project Description

This is truly a community project with benefits that spread through all areas of the larger county population. This project creates opportunities for commercial growth leading to job opportunities and also creates the largest opportunity in the unincorporated county to supply affordable housing for working families and seniors. The project serves community facilities including the Chimacum Primary School and the Jefferson County Library. The only supermarket in the county will be able to expand to meet current and future demand, but only with this sewer in place. This supermarket serves much of the county\u2019s population both inside the communities of Port Hadlock, Irondale, and Chimacum as well as Port Ludlow and all of the surrounding rural population. The nearby Indian Island Naval Magazine facility needs housing and shopping for its personnel and support staff. With all of these opportunities will come increased economic vitality and resilience in the County with a large economic return for the taxpayer investment. This is the right time to invest in this project which enjoys widespread support and already has property owners lining up to develop or redevelop contingent on the availability of sewer. In addition, there are water quality and environmental benefits to be realized from this project. Port Hadlock is currently served by individual septic systems, some very old and in poor repair. This has led to documented water quality issues in nearby Chimacum Creek and Port Townsend Bay with impacts to shellfish harvest on the beach (Jefferson County Department of Health). This municipal sewer will treat wastewater to Class A reclaimed water standards (near drinking water quality) using state-of-the-art membrane bioreactor technology and will recharge the aquifer from which the water is withdrawn in the first place.