Water-Filter Plant
Dear Editor: When Alaska Pulp Corporation transferred ownership of the APC mill property to the City of Sitka, one of the properties in question was a massive “gravel-bed” water-filter plant that APC used to remove Blue Lake sediment, and all other impurities from the process-water used at the pulp mill. The pulp APC produced was some of the purest and cleanest produced in the world.
The APC water filter plant was capable of filtering over 5 billion gallons of water per day. This is much more than Sitka’s current and future needs, as well as providing us with the capability of selling FILTERED water to outside vendors ... instead of raw water.
The city negotiated with APC to keep many of the structures and facilities at the APC mill site. Why did the city agree to allow APC to demolish this filter plant, and opt to apply for a USEPA waiver to allow the city to use UNFILTERED water from Blue Lake as Sitka’s primary water source?
It seems as though the City of Sitka administration may have wanted to keep the issue of Blue Lake’s dioxin-contaminated sediments out of the eyes and mind’s of members of the general public. I’m afraid the tainted sediments of Blue Lake will always be with Sitka ... as long as Blue Lake is our source of drinking water.
Florian Sever, Sitka
