One month after the Deschutes County Commission adopted an ordinance to keep nitrates out of groundwater in the south county, residents near Sunriver Resort are exploring a partnership with the resort that could help them comply with the new rule.

The ordinance, also known as the “local rule,” requires residents in Sunriver and surrounding La Pine to upgrade their septic systems or hook up to sewer systems to filter out more nitrates before they percolate into the area’s shallow aquifer.

A possible solution for some residents within a couple of miles of the resort could come if Sunriver Resort decides to build a new wastewater treatment facility at a site where it already has a holding pond for treated water, known as effluent. Nearby residents are talking about hooking up to the plant. The resort already needs to upgrade its current sewage treatment plant to meet Department of Environmental Quality standards and has gained approval for those plans, but the possible partnership with local neighborhoods would actually include a new plant.

A neighborhood coalition is currently discussing that possibility with the resort, the county and the DEQ, and the groups may hold a meeting for the public in upcoming weeks, a resident and a representative of the resort said Tuesday.

“Because of the nitrate problems in the south county, this kind of presented itself,” said Steve Runner, vice president of development, planning and construction for Sunriver Resort.

Some residents of Oregon Water Wonderland I have been discussing for about six months the possibility of hooking up to Oregon Water Wonderland II’s wastewater treatment facility, according to the DEQ.

Runner said the owner and operator of the current sewage treatment plant, Sunriver Environmental LLC, plans to improve the existing facility. But if the operator decides to provide sewer services to more neighborhoods, it would need to build a new plant by the holding pond on Cottonwood Road, Runner said.

The DEQ has already approved Sunriver Environmental’s application for an upgrade at its current location, which would not allow more neighborhoods to connect.

“If we were to proceed with the currently planned upgrade of the Sunriver (sewage treatment plant) as submitted and approved, the opportunity for expanded service would for all intents and purposes be lost and could never become a possibility again for decades to come,” Runner wrote in an e-mail.

Discussions of building a new Sunriver wastewater facility are still only preliminary, Runner said, and the groups involved would need to complete an expensive feasibility study before moving head. The issue has come up for discussion before the Deschutes County Commission, and a consultant for the resort asked the commission to contribute matching funds for a grant to support the study.

But the County Commission so far has not pledged any financial support. “It’s a big expense and unfortunately, you have to spend a lot of money for a feasibility study before you know the expense of creating this whole sewer system,” said June Ramey, a member of the Upper Deschutes River Coalition of 19 neighborhoods who is involved in the discussions.

Subdivisions that could potentially hook up to a new Sunriver Resort sewage treatment plant include River Forest Acres, Spring River and Deschutes River Recreation Homesites units 1 through 5 and 9, Ramey said.

Robert Baggett, a natural resource specialist for DEQ in Bend, said the agency may grant Sunriver Resort an extension to its 2010 deadline to upgrade the current sewage system, if the facility expands to serve more neighborhoods.

“It’s going to take some community members to get involved, some organization of folks that live in the area,” Baggett said.

For more information about the Upper Deschutes River Coalition, go to udrc.org.