The City of Bellingham is in the early stages of studying potential improvements to Post Point Resource Recovery Plant, the facility that treats the City’s municipal wastewater, in order to address new state regulations that protect water quality. We are evaluating new treatments at the plant that will support our local environment and wildlife in Bellingham Bay and comply with new permit requirements.
The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) is working to improve water quality in the Puget Sound. As part of this effort, Ecology issued a Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit. One of the requirements of the permit is to develop a Nutrient Reduction Evaluation to study ways of reducing the nitrogen discharged from Post Point.
The used water coming into the Post Point Resource Recovery Plant contains nutrients like nitrogen, and these nutrients need to be treated to levels that support a healthy habitat in Bellingham Bay and the Puget Sound. Nitrogen also enters Bellingham Bay from runoff containing fertilizers and animal waste. Too much nitrogen in water can trigger algae blooms, which reduce the oxygen level in water and stress fish and other marine life. To protect the fish, orcas, and other wildlife that call Puget Sound home, we are investigating solutions that will remove more nitrogen Post Point.
Our goal is to understand what types of improvements may be possible to reduce nitrogen, support the health of our growing community, and protect our local environment and wildlife. Efficient, affordable, and high-quality water service is essential to a healthy Bellingham today and in the future.
What’s Happening Now?
In addition to developing the City’s nutrient evaluation to comply with the permit, our team is currently working on a nitrogen removal optimization trial. This trial is focused on maximizing nitrogen removal with the existing infrastructure at Post Point. Over the next year we will continue work to determine what technologies will remove additional nitrogen from our water and will be presenting our findings and recommendations to the Water Resources Advisory Board.
Stay Informed
We will keep you updated as we develop our evaluation. To learn more and stay informed:
- Contact us with your questions and comments at askPW@cob.org.
- Sign up for the Public Works newsletter.
- Request a briefing for your community group or organization by contacting Natalie Monro at nhnida@cob.org.
