INFRASTRUCTURE

Sewer

Approximately 6.5 miles of sewer infrastructure will be needed at the full build-out of the village. Sewer infrastructure will be installed within the road rights-of way. A gravity system will be used. The wastewater treatment plant may require an expansion to serve the additional population, though initial estimates from the Indian Health Service indicated that there is likely adequate capacity in the current facility.

The wastewater treatment plant lies above the FEMA Flood Zone, but within the modeled tsunami zone, near its upper reaches. According to IHS, the plant is well-placed to serve both the Upper and Lower Villages. The plant was constructed in 2010. For these reasons, construction of a new plant is a low priority.  Therefore, protecting the wastewater plant should be a serious consideration to permit proper functioning in the case of emergency and reduce the risk of disease in the village after a disaster. Such protection with a wall or berm may be feasible; further investigation of protecting the plant should be studied. Before additional users can be added to the sewer line that serves the clinics, two manholes will need repair to allow adequate flow through the system.

Water

The supply of water is adequate to serve the new village. A new tank may need to be installed to provide adequate pressure to the homes and fire hydrants in the higher areas of the village. This tank would be placed near the high point of the new village (+/-165 feet) and elevated in a tower to match the elevation of the tank on the north side of the river. Alternatively, a tank could be elsewhere on the south side of the river at such an elevation that the high water elevation is 245 feet.

In case of an earthquake, the pipe across the Quinault River Bridge will likely fail. The best option for the village to preserve their ability to consume fresh water may not be via pipes and tanks. Rather, portable water filtration machines may be the best solution. Some of these machines are operated by handpumping and would not require electricity or generators for operation. Water could be filtered from the nearby river or other nearby water sources.

Communications/Power

Communications and power infrastructure should be installed underground, as it is in the existing Snob Hill development, at the time of road construction. The installation of fiber optic cable will allow each home to have access to high-speed internet. An expansion of cellular phone service would likely be accomplished using the existing telecommunications tower.