Business Oregon loaned the Miles Crossing Sanitary District $1 million from the Water/Wastewater Fund for the design and planning of a much needed sewer system. Funds for the $8 million project were obtained through the USDA Rural Utilities Service and from monthly fees contributed by the customers of Miles Crossing Sanitary Sewer.

The Miles Crossing Sanitary Sewer District, located across Youngs Bay south of the city of Astoria, serves a population of approximately 900 residents. Until construction of the new system, domestic sewage was disposed by way of on-site septic/drain field systems which were creating water quality issues. The district was formed in 1999 to develop a public wastewater management system and replace the on-site systems.

Because much of the district area is flat and low lying with high groundwater and poor soil conditions, a unique centralized vacuum sewage collection system was chosen for implementation. An agreement was developed with the city of Astoria for sewage treatment and disposal. Approximately 42,000 feet of vacuum sewer was constructed along with 375 new service connections. The central vacuum/pumping station contains a vacuum sewage collection tank, vacuum pumps, standby generator, sewage pumps, an emergency raw sewage storage tank and related facilities. Duplex 500-gallon per minute (gpm) sewage pumps in the station pump sewage from the vacuum tank through an 8-inch diameter, 9,500-foot long force main (pressure main), which discharges to the city of Astoria's sewer system on the north side of Youngs Bay. The force main was installed under Youngs Bay using horizontal directional drilling techniques.