Jefferson County, WA is developing a sewer system for the Irondale & Port Hadlock Urban Growth Area (UGA) to provide wastewater treatment for local residents and businesses. The sewer system has been identified as a critical element for increased regional economic development. When construction of the sewer system is completed, the Irondale & Port  Hadlock UGA will be able to support affordable housing, medical facilities, higher density multifamily residences, senior housing, as well as commercial and industrial development.

Current status

June 2022 Phase 1 Sewer Service Area Map

The area is indicated within the green lines on this map.

State allocates $20.175 million for Port Hadlock Sewer project

The State Legislature allocated $20.175 million in 2021 for construction of the Port Hadlock Sewer. The project funding is derived from recent federal relief and infrastructure packages received by Washington State and comes just weeks after the Department of Ecology approved the Sewer Facility Plan for the project.  Both The Leader and Peninsula Daily News reported the news in the Wednesday, 4/28/2021 editions of their papers.

April 15, 2021 Informational Meeting

Thanks to all who attended and participated in the Board of County Commissioners special meeting on the sewer project that was held on Zoom. Many great questions and comments were received in the Chat box and during the Public Comment portion. Here are links to the presentation slides, questions and comments received in the Chat box, and AVCapture recording. 

Click here to open the PDF document containing the response to the Chat Box questions. Thank you for your patience while we took the extra time needed to respond to the questions.

We've added a newsletter page

Visit the newsletter page to access project newsletters and sign up for email notifications when new newsletters are published.  

Below are links to the 2021 Sewer Facility Plan update. These documents contain updates to the 2008 Sewer Facility Plan and are consistent with the information contained in the May 2019 Value Engineering Review (Feasibility Study). The updated plan reflects the use of new pre-fabricated, modular MBR treatment units and a pressurized collection system to reduce initial project costs. Zoning, population, and project phasing remain unchanged from the 2008 Plan. Several growth scenarios are analyzed. The Plan has received approval from the Department of Ecology.

2021 Sewer Facility Plan Update

2021 Sewer Facility Plan Update (Appendices)

In 2018, property owners from the Port Hadlock “Phase I Area” (Core Area, Waterfront, Old Alcohol Plant) presented the County with a petition indicating strong support for the sewer and potential interest in forming a Local Improvement District. In response, the County engaged design consultants to perform a feasibility study to determine what steps could be taken to reduce the cost of a “startup” sewer system to serve the Core Area while still allowing for future expansion to serve the larger Urban Growth Area (UGA) when demand occurs.

The results of the feasibility study were published in the Port Hadlock Wastewater System Value Engineering Review (May 2019.)

The study showed potential for significantly lowering startup costs by serving the Core Area with a newly available modular treatment plant unit. This system still utilizes previously approved membrane bioreactor technology to treat wastewater to “Class A” Reclaimed Water standards required by the Department of Ecology. It offers the flexibility of allowing for future expansion as well. The study also estimated the amount of initial cost savings that could be realized using a pressurized collection system instead of gravity pipes and pump stations and focused on other cost saving measures appropriate for a smaller system designed to initially serve only the Core Area.

Jefferson County has since been engaging with a newly formed Sewer Working Group (SWG) made up of stakeholders in the Core Area to find ways to advance the project. Related materials are linked below as PDF files. 

Visit the Sewer Working Group Meetings page for information from those meetings.