wastewater facility is a full-reclamation
plant, in fact, which in Walla Walla’s case
means that the effluent generated at the
plant during summer months is sent to
irrigators for use.
But the track record for innovation isn’t so
goodon the city’swater lines or roads.
“The infrastructure on the front end and
the back is really quite impressive,” Bealey
said. “It’s in between that it’s pretty darn
rotten. A lot of failing water lines and
failing sewer lines and failing streets.”
To combat those issues, the city kick-started
an initiative in 2010 – the Infrastructure
Repair and Replacement Program (IRRP)
– to ramp up water and sewer rates to help
tackle the most immediate issues. Those
funds, which will ultimately yield $4
million to $4.5million per year, are the spur
formuch of the existing renewal work being
done within the network of streets, water
and sewers.
Feedback from city residents in 2011
reflected a desire to make streets a priority,
so Bealey and his staff have gone about
66 | BusinessWorld |
June-July 2014
