Quincy to study possible water project partnership
The city of Quincy may be part of a water project with two local businesses, depending on the outcome of a grant application. Quincy City Hall is pictured.
FILE PHOTO
QUINCY — The city of Quincy could be working with two local businesses to build a facility to treat water used in food processing. The city will sign an application for a $20 million grant as part of a project with Ag-Iris, a consortium representing Quincy Foods and Lamb-Weston.
Quincy City Administrator Pat Haley said signing the grant application doesn’t commit the city to anything.
“It doesn’t guarantee that we’ll win (the grant), and it doesn’t guarantee that we’ll necessarily have to accept it,” Haley said.
The grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation would pay part of the cost of building a new water treatment facility for water used at the two facilities. Currently that water is treated and discharged into a system that eventually flows into the Potholes Reservoir.
The three irrigation districts in the Columbia Basin, including the Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District, have asked that the businesses find another way to store or discharge that water. The businesses have an alternative, a system where water can be stored, treated and used for other applications, including irrigation.
Quincy Water Projects Manager Bob Davis told Quincy City Council members the new facility is scheduled to be finished by 2026.
Haley said it’s an expensive project. The grant would help with the cost, but the businesses couldn’t apply for it. The city of Quincy can, however. The Ag-Iris group would pay to construct the facility, but ultimately the city of Quincy would own it, or part of it. The city worked on a similar project with Microsoft, Haley said.
“So that’s the big decision, whether or not we want to do that,” Haley said.
The grant application is due soon, so council members were asked to approve it with the provision that the city could refuse it.
“That will give us time to sort through all the pluses and minuses of (the city) participating,” Haley said. “There’s no guarantee we’re going to get the grant.
“I think the bigger decision just needs more time to study,” Haley said. “While we’re waiting, we can find out whether or not this is a good idea for the city to do.”