Port signs over Wilma utilities

The Port of Whitman County is getting out of the water business.

Port commissioners approved a contract at their regular meeting last Thursday, Aug. 2, that would transfer the port’s water and sewer systems to the Asotin County Public Utilities District. The district will use them to provide services to the tenants at the Wilma Industrial Park.

The move means rates will likely go down for most port tenants, said Debbie Snell, port properties and development manager.

Most tenants at Wilma are served with four-inch metered hook-ups. The port charges a flat $32 per month as a minimum charge, while the PUD charges $21 per month. The port also adds $40 in monthly access fees.

Usage is currently charged by the port at 51 cents per cubic foot up to 6,000 cubic feet, with the rate dropping to 40 cents for usage of 6,001 to 10,000 cubic feet and 15 cents per cubic foot for users over 10,001 feet. The PUD charges 89 cents per 100 cubic feet.

Snell said rates charged by the port would have had to increase soon to cover the cost of maintenance.

She said the PUD’s built-in expertise and experience are expected to provide tenants with better service if and when problems arise.

The agreement, which has yet to be signed by the PUD, calls for the port to make about $150,000 worth of maintenance improvements to the infrastructure before turning it over.

Port commissioners and Port Executive Director Joe Poire said the repairs would have to be made soon.

The PUD will do the upgrades and bill the port for the work.

Driving the decision to hand over water and sewer to the PUD, said Poire, is a laundry list of state regulations on public water and sewer systems that require special certifications. The port has been contracting with the PUD to have a certified maintenance worker to watch over the water system.

Wilma has a two-lagoon system for industrial waste that is not currently connected. A septic tank and drain field currently provide sewer service.