Numbers dominated the news at a short meeting of The Dalles City Council last night. Among them was an annual report by the manager of the city’s wastewater treatment system, Oscar Farris. He works for Jacobs, formerly CH2M Hill. The company has contracted with the city to operate the plant for the past 35 years:
“The Dalles Wastewater treatment plant treated just over 920 million gallons, with 99.99 percent compliance with our NPDES permits. A little perspective: an Olympic pool holds 60,000 gallon, we provided more than 15,000 swimming pools.”
NPDES stands for the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System. The plant treats 2 and a half million gallons a day.
And it’s worth noting that during the winter storm that blanketed The Dalles from January 12th to the 26th, city crews worked hard to keep the streets sanded and plowed. They spread more than 1.2 million pounds of sanding rock and more than 4 tons of salt, traveling over 5,000 miles, all within city limits. Those real heroes worked nearly as many hours of overtime as they did regular hours, with people putting in as many as 84 hours of overtime in the 2-week period.
That’s what took place at last nights The Dalles City Council meeting.