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Central Waterfront Community Open Houses
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 31, 2023
St. Helens, Ore. – The City of St. Helens invites the community to attend one of two upcoming Central Waterfront Open Houses to learn about the City’s current wastewater system, hear an overview about the Central Waterfront project, and tour the facility. The open houses are being hosted on Thursday, March 2, 2023, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday, April 6, 2023, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the City’s wastewater treatment facility, 451 Plymouth Street, St. Helens. The same information is being presented at both open houses.
The Central Waterfront Property is approximately 50 acres and the current location of the City’s 39-acre wastewater treatment plant facility. The facility’s secondary lagoon was built in 1972 as a partnership with Boise Cascade. Today, the facility is oversized, expensive to maintain, and is not the best use of a large stretch of Columbia River waterfront property. The 50-year-old lagoon also creates environmental permitting challenges due to its age and outdated technology.
The City of St. Helens is currently exploring options to repurpose part or all of the wastewater treatment plant facility. By doing so, the City will be able to:
- Provide cohesive connection along the St. Helens waterfront, linking the historic St. Helens Riverfront District to the City’s Industrial Business Park, McCormick Park, and residential areas. This will unite two miles of waterfront property for additional public amenities.
- Improve the St. Helens environment and health of the Columbia River by creating a properly sized wastewater treatment plant facility that uses modern technology to meet today’s environmental standards.
- Promote the economic health of St. Helens by opening prime waterfront land for possible marine and industrial development, additional public amenities, and easier connection to Riverfront District businesses.
- Help keep utility costs in check by creating an appropriately sized wastewater treatment facility with modern technological efficiencies.
If repurposing the wastewater facility site can be done safely, St. Helens will be in a unique position to create a waterfront that attracts development, improves resiliency, generates tax revenue, creates jobs, and builds a community asset for residents and visitors alike. In 2022, the City of St. Helens was notified that it would receive $1.4 million in state and federal funding to assist with the Central Waterfront Project.
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For further information regarding the City of St. Helens Central Waterfront Community open houses, please contact Communications Officer Crystal King at cking@sthelensoregon.gov.
