Pierce County officials next month will mark the completion of a $1.6 million, 2.5-acre facility that processes roadside storm drain waste.

According to Pierce County Public Works and Utilities road operations manager Bruce Wagner, the waste processing facility, which is located adjacent to the Pierce County Central Maintenance Facility in Spanaway, will allow the county to separate, process, reuse, and dispose of liquid and solid waste generated when county road crews clean catch basins, ditches,  and drainage pipes located in unincorporated Pierce County.

“This facility will increase our capacity for processing storm drain waste, and be more cost effective and efficient as it is located at the home base for most of our Road Operations staff,” said Wagner. “It is also in an area where most of our storm drains are located.”

Storm drain waste will be transported from job sites back to the new facility in vactor trucks, which will be emptied into the facility and processed. The resulting processed water will be used to wash maintenance trucks, while the solid waste will be reused as a soil amendment or transported to a solid waste facility.

Road crews clean roadside storm drainage facilities six months out of the year. Unincorporated Pierce County is home to approximately 21,700 catch basins, 1,200 miles of ditch, and 550 miles of drainage pipes.

Pierce County broke ground on the project in June.

General Mechanical, Inc. was the project contractor, and KPFF Consulting Engineers was the project engineer. The project was funded using a $750,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology, and nearly $838,000 in Pierce County road funds.

Pierce County officials and Washington State Department of Ecology officials will mark the project’s completion during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Weds., Dec. 3, at 1:30 p.m., at the Pierce County Central Maintenance Facility, located at 4812 196th St. E., in Spanaway.

More information is available online at piercecountywa.org/decantfacility.