Portola, Aug 16 - By Diana Jorgenson
Portola Editor

Disagreements between Plumas County and the City of Portola over cost allotment and ownership of the proposed Lake Davis Water Treatment Plant melted away in the face of $2 million in federal funds procured for the plant's construction by Congressman John Doolittle.

County and city officials met with Congressman Doolittle, several of his associates and representatives of the Army Corp of Engineers at Portola City Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, to review the plans for the new replacement water plant and to discuss the status of the project and update all concerned about the next steps in the process.

"We were lost without you," smiled Supervisor Bill Powers. "Lo and behold, you kept our amount in there in the appropriations budget. We certainly appreciate that. It has made this whole project possible."

Doolittle was chairman of the General Appropriations Committee and included funding for the plant within the county's allotment on last year's budget. Although it was approved, when it came time to write the check, the county discovered that the actual amount was based on population and the money evaporated.

Doolittle then resubmitted funding requests for the treatment plant this past year as an individual line item and $2 million was secured.

The plans for the Lake Davis Treatment Plant were designed by Sigurd Hansen, contracted by the county, and are considered 90 percent complete. The plans are currently being reviewed by the Corps, who will perform the actual construction as well as by the Department of Health Services.

Tom Hunter, public works director for the county, gave a brief description of the plans to those present. He began by describing the existing arrangement of backwash ponds and a 250,000-gallon holding tank with its lines to the city.

The new plan calls for a larger building but uses the existing carbon filter and holding tank while changing the ponds significantly. The new plant will house two plug-in filtration modules, manufactured by an offsite firm, which would be large enough to accommodate a third module when growth demands require an addition.

Two modules are sufficient to meet the needs of 1,100 city residents as well as 30 hookups on Crocker Lake Estates, while the third module is expected to meet the growth needs for the next 20 years.

"The timing is perfect," said City Administrator Jim Murphy. "If we weren't moving forward with this right now, our Planning Commission wouldn't be hearing these development proposals, which are a huge economic boon to the area."