Plans and Planning

LOTT staff participate in several significant planning efforts and are responsible for assuring those plans get implemented. Some of the major plans and planning activities are described below. The Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) and the Water Conservation Plan are located on separate web pages – see capital improvement and water conservation for more details.

Wastewater Resource Management Plan (WRMP)

The management, programs, capital projects, and operations of the LOTT Wastewater Alliance are structured to implement LOTT's long-range Wastewater Resource Management Plan. The $7.8 million planning process began in September 1995, spanned more than three years and included a $3.1 million scientific study of Budd Inlet. In December 1998, all four LOTT Partners (Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Thurston County) voted to select "The Highly Managed Alternative" as the proposed plan.

The Plan is a product of public values and public comment received throughout the planning process. These included strong desires to protect the environment, control costs, make maximum use of LOTT's existing facilities before investing in new ones, use treated water as a resource, achieve a fair balance of costs between growth and current residents, and plan with a long-range perspective.

During 1999, the LOTT Partners finalized financing and governance structures for implementing the plan. That year, they acted to increase sewer connection fees and monthly rates. A new Interlocal Agreement for Wastewater Management by the LOTT Alliance gained final approval in January 2000. Based on the Agreement, LOTT began its transition from a paperwork partnership to a new entity – the LOTT Wastewater Alliance. In May 2000, the LOTT Board adopted a new mission statement. Transition to the new governance structure was complete effective July 1, 2001.

As designed, the entire program needs to be continuously monitored and tightly managed. For that reason, the Plan continues to be described as "The Highly Managed Plan." The Overall Plan Management, Annual Flow and Capacity Planning Analysis, and Annual Capital Improvement Program planning processes are part of that continuous effort. The Budd Inlet Treatment Plant Master Plan and Asset Management Strategic Plan are special planning efforts designed to complement the WRMP.

Overall Plan Management

Guiding virtually all of LOTT's functions, LOTT's long-range Wastewater Resource Management Plan sets the stage for new decentralized approaches to wastewater management in the Lacey-Olympia-Tumwater area. LOTT's facilities now extend outside the geographic boundaries of the City of Olympia into Tumwater and Lacey, and will be expanding further as the Capital Improvement Program is implemented. Under the lead of LOTT's Utility Planner, plan management tasks include conducting annual flow and capacity analyses, preparation of the annual Capital Improvements Plan, and other specialized engineering support activities related to Plan implementation.

Annual Flow and Capacity Planning Analysis

The WRMP is also known as "The Highly Managed Plan" because it involves a virtually constant process of monitoring and planning. Annual assessments are conducted of capacity in the existing system, including treatment capacity, capacity to use or discharge treated water, and conveyance pipeline capacity. An annual flow and capacity analysis is conducted and the data is used to identify changes or additions to planned capital projects or programs.

Budd Inlet Treatment Plant Master Plan

The Budd Inlet Treatment Plant has been at its current site since the first construction of the original primary treatment plant began in the late 1940s. Over time, our citizens have invested millions of dollars for upgrades from primary treatment to secondary treatment to nitrogen removal and, now, to include Class A Reclaimed Water. Replacement costs are currently estimated to be over $300 million. Millions of dollars in improvements are planned over the next several years under the Wastewater Resource Management Plan. With extensive new urban development occurring around the Treatment Plant, it is important that LOTT ensure it will be able to maintain and improve the facilities and services to continue meeting the community's wastewater needs. To achieve that goal, the LOTT Partners invested in a Master Plan for the Budd Inlet Plant, which was completed in 2006.

A Master Plan will help protect this tremendous community investment by identifying ways to keep the existing wastewater treatment plant in compliance with customer demand and treatment regulations for years to come. By carefully planning for and implementing critical upgrades at the current plant, rate payers will save millions of dollars and ensure that LOTT continues its commitment to be a good neighbor. The Master Plan also adds detail and update earlier plans for facility improvements to ensure they upgrade the efficiency of plant operation, anticipate new levels of treatment regulation, and consider what will be necessary to achieve continued sustainability in a high-profile, high-cost urban re-development area.

Asset Management Strategic Plan

Asset Management is a continuous process that guides the acquisition, use and disposal of infrastructure assets to optimize service delivery and minimize costs over the asset's entire life. In an asset management model, components are regularly maintained over long planning cycles, and finally replaced when deterioration outweighs the benefit of further maintenance. Goals of LOTT's Asset Management Program are to:

• Provide a long-term sustainable wastewater treatment infrastructure for the growth management area
• Maximize the investment and reinvestment of ratepayer dollars
• Achieve the lowest overall life cycle costs of LOTT physical assets
• Enable LOTT to maintain its existing rate structure