Darigold Inc., a Seattle-based subsidiary of the Northwest Dairy Association, plans to build a $1.2 million wastewater pretreatment system at its Spokane milk-processing facility, near the northeast corner of Francis Avenue and Division Street.

The facility, located at 33 E. Francis, produces milk, cream, juice, and ice cream fluid mixes. At the plant, activities that generate wastewater include truck washing, conveyor sprays, wash down of production areas, and parts of the production system, based on project planning documents on file with the city of Spokane.

Attempts to reach Darigold were unsuccessful.

However, the planning documents say Darigold plans to divert and pipe the plant's wastewater flow to a pretreatment equalization tank and return a post-treatment flow to the city sewer line.

The documents show that the project would include installing a 25-foot-tall steel wastewater tank to capture and temporarily store wastewater to be discharged into the city's sewer system. Plans also show that the project would include erecting a small structure to store aeration blowers, valves, piping, and equipment.

The operation here uses an average of about 186,000 gallons of water per day, and its average daily flow of wastewater is around 175,000 gallons per day, says an engineering report on file with the city.

Planning documents say that the dairy co-op is in the process of selecting a contractor for the project, and the const-ruction schedule would run from September through December.

The project is designed mainly to lessen the impacts of wastewater fluctuations as discharges occur to the city's sewage treatment plant, the plans say. The pretreatment system would allow the plant to monitor and control discharge flows and pH levels.

The engineering report also says that the Spokane Darigold operation historically receives and processes a daily average of 2,500 pounds of sour cream, 260 gallons of juice concentrate, 678 gallons of sugar, and 81,000 gallons of milk.

On average, the facility makes 79,000 gallons of pasteurized milk and 1,500 gallons of juice daily.

Darigold operates as the marketing and processing subsidiary of the Northwest Dairy Association, which is owned by more than 500 dairy farm producers.