Port of Mattawa Works to Expand Wastewater Infrastructure to Accommodate the Increasing Growth of the Wine Grape Crushing & Bulk Wine-Making Industry in Washington State

MATTAWA, Wash., Feb. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Port of Mattawa is working to expand and improve the infrastructure of its Wastewater Treatment System to accommodate the increasing growth of the wine grape crushing/bulk wine-making industry in central Washington as well as support other food processing in the Mattawa area, which will help to retain and create jobs and increase economic development in the south Grant County/Mattawa area.

The State of Washington is the nation's second largest wine producer, with over 1,000 wineries and an economic impact of $8.4 billion. Washington State's wine production has more than doubled over the past two decades, and the Port of Mattawa has become a major production area of bulk wine in Washington State, thus increasing the need for wastewater treatment capacity in Mattawa.

As a result, the Port of Mattawa's is requesting capital budget and/or infrastructure funding for Phase 4 of the Port's Wastewater Infrastructure Improvement Project, which would increase the capacity of the Port of Mattawa's industrial wastewater treatment system, especially for wine waste, which is a byproduct of the wine grape crushing process.

The capital budget/infrastructure funding request by the Port of Mattawa is widely supported, with the Port receiving letters of support from over thirty (30) organizations, companies, and entities in Washington State.

The expansion of wastewater treatment capacity of the Port's Industrial Wastewater System will allow the Port of Mattawa to keep up with rapidly growing wine crushing/bulk wine-making industry in central Washington as well as support other food processing in the Mattawa area.

Moreover, the bulk wine that is produced in Mattawa is used by wineries all over Washington State and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, which helps to promote and enhance tourism in our region.

Furthermore, the expanded treatment system will allow the Port of Mattawa to better and more safely discharge treated wastewater onto crops while also recycling the wine and food processing waste in an environmentally sustainable manner. 

"The Port of Mattawa has become a leading location for wine grape crushing and bulk wine-making in the Pacific Northwest, and the Port is working to continue to improve its wastewater treatment infrastructure to keep up with this very important value-added agriculture-industry," stated Lars Leland, Executive Director of the Port of Mattawa.

In particular, over the past few years, the wine grape crushing industry has created and retained over 200 jobs in the Mattawa area, and it is projected that the Port of Mattawa's Phase 4 wastewater infrastructure expansion project will help to create more jobs and stimulate economic development as it will allow for wine grape crushing companies to continue to grow and hire more people in Mattawa and central Washington.

For more information, please contact Lars Leland of the Port of Mattawa at [email protected] or 509-761-9734.

About the Port of Mattawa

The Port of Mattawa is located in south Grant County on the Columbia River in Washington State and is the closest inland port in central/eastern Washington State to the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma.  Grant County is the top agricultural production county in Washington State, and Mattawa is a major producer of wine grapes, apples, cherries, potatoes and onions and other high-value irrigated crops.

The Port offers ideal sites for wineries, food processors, fresh produce packing companies, cold storage facilities, small manufacturers, and is a prime location for agribusiness companies because of its central location in Washington State near major irrigated agricultural production areas including the Columbia Basin and the Yakima Valley. 

The Port of Mattawa is also very close to Interstate 90 and enjoys some of lowest-cost electricity in the United States from Grant County PUD. 

The greater Mattawa area (Mattawa, Desert Aire, Beverly, etc.) is one of the faster growing rural communities in Washington State and has a population of nearly 10,000 people.  Additionally, Mattawa is only a one-hour drive or less from several major communities in central Washington such as Moses Lake, Othello, Richland, Kennewick, Pasco, Yakima, Sunnyside, and Ellensburg, which have metropolitan statistical areas (MSA's) with a combined population of nearly 1 million people.

SOURCE Port of Mattawa