After a delay of more than a year due to a water reservoir issue related to concrete pouring, construction of a new water treatment plant in Philomath may finally be underway.

Chris Workman, city manager, said he expects a bid to build the plant will be out by the end of September. This latest estimate comes after the Philomath City Council approved a $2.7 million membrane filtration system earlier this week.

“We just awarded the contract for the filtration system, so we can now finalize the design. Once the engineers have the design finalized and know exactly what we’re building and are ready to get the actual building permits, they will put the contract out and bring a contractor on board to actually build the plant,” Workman said. “And that sets the timeline for when we’ll start and when we’ll be finished.”

The project’s long delay was caused by an inadequate concrete slab poured on June 28, 2023, as part of the construction of a $4.2 million water reservoir.

“That delayed things for about a year — from the concrete being poured to getting the lawyers involved and negotiating what repairs were needed, who was going to do them and pay for them and when they were going to be done,” Workman said. “I’m just glad they’re finally on site and doing the repairs.”

Public Works Director Kevin Fear said repairs to the concrete slab began several weeks ago and are expected to be completed by the end of this month.

Once that happens, Fear said, “we can get back on track and Westech Engineering can proceed with the design of the plant, taking into account the filtration equipment we will be purchasing tonight.”

The city council unanimously approved the purchase with Aria Filtra.

Peter Blumanthal of Westech Engineering praised the company’s track record in water filtration systems.

“Aria Filtra is a well-known company – they make really good equipment,” Blumenthal said. “That’s important for the city because this is a long-term purchase and you deserve a long life from a robust and well-designed facility.”

Aria Filtra’s systems have been installed at several other facilities in Oregon, most recently in Bend, Blumanthal said, as well as in smaller communities comparable to Philomath, such as Cottage Grove, Creswell, Jefferson and St. Helens.

According to Workman, work on the water treatment plant could also take place in winter.

“I honestly don’t know how much work they can or want to do in the winter,” Workman said. “It’s a pre-engineered metal building that sits on an existing asphalt slab that we’ll have to pour a foundation for, but they won’t be standing in mud. I think it’s a project they can work through an Oregon winter on, but I don’t know for sure… maybe they’ll give them more time.”

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