The Eastsound Sewer and Water District operates a small (15,000 gpd) recirculating gravel filter system on Orcas Island, Wash. — one of two treatment facilities that serve separate small communities.
When the filter became plugged with sludge after many years through the normal aging process, the district was faced with a costly remediation. Instead, the district staff devised a much simpler solution that cost less than 10 percent of what its engineers had recommended.
Simple system
The gravel filter serves the Town of Orcas Village, and the 160,000 gpd activated sludge plant serves the Town of Eastsound, also on Orcas Island. Both treatment
