The city of Milwaukie, Oregon (not Milwaukee, Wisconsin) has put forth an innovative plan to redesign a stinky water treatment plant on the banks of the Willamette River. The city had wanted to close the plant and restore all the land, but the newest (and probably not the final) plan envisions a smaller water treatment plant using membrane and ultraviolet technology. Clusters of homes (cohousing) would go between the new plant and the Willamette River. A water discovery center, community gardens, and an eco-friendly parking lot (which, I assume, involves porous pavement), among other things, would go on the rest of the 10 acres.

I’m not sure of the wisdom of locating more homes next to a water treatment plant, when current residents were already complaining about the smell. But perhaps the new technology would eliminate the smell. We can only hope, right?

How is this restoration?

The project, if implemented, would supposedly send cleaner water back into the Willamette. It wasn’t clear to me from the article whether much restoration would be done on the site.

Source: “Milwaukie Envisions Smaller Treatment Plant for Riverfront Development,” The Oregonian, April 16, 2010