The City of Wenatchee provides sanitary sewer services to all residences within the City limits, north of the Wenatchee River bridge in Olds Station and in portions of the Sunnyslope area within the Growth Management Boundary.

Sewer Plans

Plan Updates 

The Wastewater Treatment Plant Facilities Plan is currently under review by the Department of Ecology. The Draft Plan is currently available for review.

DRAFT Wastewater Treatment Facilities Plan (pdf)

*Due to accommodate document size, image quality may be reduced. To request a full sized document, please contact 509-888-3235.

Sewer Comprehensive Plan Final (pdf)

Wastewater Treatment Facilities Plan Update (pdf)

 If you have any questions, comments or would like more information, please contact Jessica Shaw at 509-888-3225 or jshaw@wenatcheewa.gov.

Collection and Treatment
All of the wastewater is transported via an underground network of piping and pump stations called the Collection System to the Wastewater Treatment Plant located on Worthen Street. The Wastewater Treatment Plant is one of the City’s most expensive and complicated facilities. The wastewater is processed through several physical and biological treatment processes and finally disinfected through an ultraviolet light exposure process that kills all harmful bacteria before being discharged to the Columbia River. The treated discharge or effluent meets or exceeds stringent water quality parameters before it is discharged.

The fragile biological treatment process commissions the services of millions of bacteria to perform the lengthy treatment functions. In order to protect the populations of bacteria from toxic discharges of illegal substances, the City administers a pre-treatment program to help ensure the high quality of our effluent and biosoilds, and to remain in compliance with our state discharge permit. 

If you are having a sewer issue that you would like to report please click here to fill out a citizen request form using Water and Utility - Sewer Issue for the topic.  If you are having an after-hour sewer emergency please call (509) 665-2236.

Collection System Cleaning and Maintenance

The sanitary sewer system requires cleaning and routine maintenance to prevent blockages and back-ups. To clean the system, City crews use an educator truck (Pictured below). The truck is equipped with a cleaning nozzle that is propelled from one manhole to the next using high pressure water and then pulled backward. As the nozzle is pulled backward, water scours the inside of the pipe, removing any debris in the pipe. The debris pulled backward with the nozzle and water and vacuumed out of the manhole.  The cleaning process is also important for removing tree roots that may have penetrated the sewer pipe. This process is completed on every sewer line throughout the City.

During the cleaning process, moving air can vent into a home through the sanitary sewer service line. When air vents through the sewer line, water in the toilet bowl can bubble, surge, or even splash out of the bowl. The water that could come from an incident like this comes from the bowl itself.  The common causes of air venting into homes during sanitary sewer cleaning are: are movement from normal cleaning operations, the use of higher pressure needed when cleaning sanitary sewer lines located in a steep slope, sewer lines running close to buildings, a plugged roof vent, the size and complexity of a homes waste and ventilation system.  To minimize potential for water splashing out of your toilet bowl, it is best to keep the lid down.

Upgrades
The latest treatment plant upgrade was completed in the fall of 2013.  The project brought the plant current with the new regulatory requirements, reduced odors form the treatment process, provided architectural enhancements and added landscaping to improve the facilities appearance. 

To view the information provided during the ribbon cutting ceremony please click here.

Disposable Does Not Mean Flushable
As wastewater enters the treatment plant the garbage must be screened out to prevent plugs and pump failures. The material removed from the wastewater influent must then be bagged and hauled to the landfill. Sometimes the garbage that gets disposed in the sewer system does not make it to the treatment plant. The garbage gets stuck in the sewer lines and in lift station pumps, which can result in sanitary sewer overflows. A sanitary sewer overflow can result in the sewage backing up into houses or into the streets. This creates a large mess and is costly to clean up.

Note that even wipes that are labeled as "flushable" should not be flushed down the toilet. These wipes do not disperse quickly like toilet paper, they can stay intact all the way to the treatment plant.

• What Not To Flush Brochure (pdf)
• What Not To Flush Brochure - Spanish (pdf)

Disposal of Unused Medicines
When medicines are no longer needed it’s important to dispose of them properly to avoid harm to others or the environment.  The best way to dispose of unused medicines is to participate in a take-back program. 

Confluence Health participates in the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Program to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means to dispose of prescription drugs.  Click here to view MedSafe drug collection and disposal receptacles.

The following links will provide additional information on how to dispose of unused medicines.

• FDA How to Dispose of Unused Medicines (pdf)
• Disposal of Unused Medicine: What You Should Know (link)

Visiting the Waste Water Treatment Plant

• WWTP Tour Waiver Form (pdf)
• WWTP Tour Waiver Form_Spanish (pdf)
  

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