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Ashland�s wastewater destined for Bear Creek $12.5 million plant fixup to meet DEQ requirements By SARA MURPHY ASHLAND � The city�s wastewater will irrigate fish rather than poplar trees, the City Council decided Friday. In a 4-2 vote, the council elected to construct a $12.5 million upgrade to its wastewater treatment facility. The modifications would lower phosphorous levels in the city�s effluent to meet Department of Environmental Quality requirements. Steve Hauck and Carole Wheeldon cast the dissenting votes. The council also unanimously adopted a plan to apply the city�s treated sludge on an 846-acre hillside north of Interstate 5. "I feel this is a question of balancing risks and alternatives, neither of which are very pretty," said Councilman David Fine. The council�s decision went against the recommendation of Public Works Director Paula Brown, who favored the less-costly option of spraying the effluent on the hillside outside city limits to irrigate a poplar tree plantation. That option, however, sparked concerns from neighbors who worried airborne pathogens might cause health risks, as well as from citizens who feared fish habitats might dry up if the city didn�t recycle its water into Bear Creek. The plan approved by the council, which costs $4 million to $5 million more than the poplar proposal, calls for construction of a membrane filtration system in the city�s wastewater treatment plant. After treatment, the effluent will be released back into Bear Creek. While a majority of the council agreed the filtration option left fewer unknowns than its alternative, the plan is not without its controversies. "It�s a lot more expensive and I think, environmentally, not as sound," said Mayor Cathy Shaw. While the filtration plan returns water to the creek, it doesn�t allow for stream flow management, Shaw said. "The spray irrigation plan allowed for us to augment those flows at critical times," she said. Staff reports continue to list temperature as a significant concern. Brown said the DEQ may require the city to somehow cool its wastewater � which in summer months averages 72 degrees � to 64 degrees. "Temperature is an outstanding unknown," Brown said. "It�s something we�re not going to solve tomorrow." The council must submit a plan for meeting DEQ standards by June 3 or face daily fines ranging from $250 to $10,000 a day. The plan must be implemented by the summer of 2002. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA