On pause: Ephrata halts work on sewer improvements after archaeological find
Work on a construction project to improve the city sewer system, shown here, in Ephrata is on pause after workers found historical artifacts at one of the sites.
Rebecca Pettingill/Columbia Basin Herald
Construction of sewer improvements on Third Avenue in Ephrata has been put on hold after some unspecified archaeological artifacts were found while crews were digging in late November.
“(The project) started in June. It’s part of seven locations in town, seven areas. So, the archaeologists were at each site, testing various locations. This was the only place that they’ve found anything so far,” said Ephrata Public Works Director Bill Sangster.
The project involves the installation of larger pipes for the city’s sewer collection system. The items were found only at one location where the hardware is being installed, but Sangster said crews will dig test holes nearby as a precaution to ensure irreplaceable artifacts aren’t lost as the work continues. He said archaeologists with Plateau Archaeological Investigations LLC are working with city teams to ensure the project is handled properly under laws preserving historical artifacts.
As a result of the find, completion of the project originally expected by Dec. 31 will be delayed at least another 90 days due to additional permitting requirements, Sangster said. Work will now also require digging additional test holes to see the extent of how many historical items might be found in the area. Sangster said he expects not much will be found because the area was already dug up about 40 years ago to install the old sewer system. There will also be an undetermined increase in the cost of the project Sangster hopes will be paid for via grants or other funding from the state or federal levels.
Initial cost for the project was more than $2.3 million for all seven sewer line improvements per city documents and the additional costs were not available.
“This isn’t confirmed, but I think that the Department of Ecology will help foot the bill on it, or at least we (the city) can get more money. I think this whole thing is a … loan,” Sangster said. “So, we may wind up paying for it, but it just might increase the loan a little bit.”
Sangster did not have information on precisely what artifacts were found at the site and calls and emails to Plateau Archaeological Investigations LLC were not returned before press time.