Wastewater Treatment Plant provides cleaner water

There was a distinct buzz around the new Joint Base Lewis-McChord Wastewater Treatment Plant as high ranking military and elected officials celebrated the completion of the $91 million center at a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday.

The ceremony served as a chance to thank and praise the work of everyone involved in getting the plant built. It was a group effort by various organizations, including JBLM leadership, state and local governments and CDM Smith, the construction company that built the center.

“Once again, this is JBLM proving what a good neighbor it is,” said Congressman Denny Heck, representing the 10th Congressional District of Washington. “This is a big investment in cleaning up wastewater and is an unbelievable commitment to a healthy Puget Sound and a clean neighborhood. We should all be grateful to everyone involved that made it possible.”

For the more than 115,000 military service members, their families and civilian employees that reside on or around JBLM, this new center will be a welcome improvement on the 61-year old treatment plant formerly used. The new center is capable of treating 6.7 million gallons of wastewater a day and will support JBLM, Camp Murray and the American Lake Veterans Affairs Center.

The new center also has the potential to eventually allow JBLM to reach net-zero water use — a common goal for all new water treatment centers. This will be accomplished by reusing reclaimed water on base in wash racks for irrigation and various other tasks. Doing this would be a huge step toward lowering JBLM’s water use and environmental impact.

“If we don’t take care of the environment or our resources, there won’t be anything to enjoy,” said JBLM Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Mulryan. “We wanted to work together to get something done that will benefit the community and protecting the resources. This is another step to preserve something we can enjoy in the future.”

CDM Smith broke ground to start the project two years ago. Officials said the company took great care in making sure everything was done well and the new center would pass all environmental regulations with flying colors.

“It was a sprint from day one,” said Gwen Baker, the company’s president of federal programs. “We were able to get the max amount of productivity out of each work day. The key to that is to make sure that quality doesn’t suffer and safety doesn’t suffer.

“I’m happy to say that we performed strongly on both.”

Following the ribbon cutting, attendees were offered a tour of the new building. While the tour and ceremony was upbeat, there was also a sincere understanding of why the new plant had to built.

“The Puget Sound is in danger,” Heck said. “What we pump into it has a direct impact on that. The fact that JBLM will now be pumping in water that is arguably cleaner than the water in the Puget Sound is a major commitment to the environment and the community.”