Utilities

Electricity

Electricity is provided by Grays Harbor Public Utility District throughout the County. The City of McCleary provides power to the residents and businesses within its boundaries. For industrial customers, the PUD will purchase power on the open market and pass the savings onto the company. Electric rates in Grays Harbor County are among the lowest in the nation. They range from $.0409 per kWh for large volume industrial users to $0.0698 for residential users. For more electrical rate information visit the Grays Harbor PUD.

Natural Gas

Cascade Natural Gas Corporation distributes natural gas in Grays Harbor County and provides service to most parts of the county. Rates per therm are as low as 0.83814 for large volume industrial users and for residential users the rate is $1.09048. For more information visit the Cascade Natural Gas website.

Water

The City of Aberdeen provides high quality industrial water to Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and Port businesses at a substantially lower rate than other communities provide. The industrial waterline has up to 10 million gallons per day of excess capacity. Each community has its own potable water facilities.

Wastewater

Most cities handle their own wastewater collection system and have the capacity to handle water intensive industries.

Telecommunications

Grays Harbor County connects you to the world via high technology infrastructure and service. OC48 telecommunication capabilities and 72 strand fiber optic lines throughout the county offer connectivity, redundancy and security. Businesses can take advantage of a secure co-location facility with expandable cabinet space and digital microwave, copper and traditional telephone connectivity for back-up. CenturyTel, Verizon and Qwest handle fixed telephone needs. Cellular telephone is provided by Verizon, NexTel, TMobile, Cingular and Qwest. Local Internet service providers include Techline, TSS and GH Online. High speed Internet access is nearly available everywhere.

Four lane state highway.

Transportation

Grays Harbor County offers easy access to all forms of transportation and is ideally suited for companies requiring multiple modes. The entire transportation system (land, sea, and air) ranks higher than 82% of American locales for effectiveness and ease of transport. Grays Harbor Port has deep-water > 36' mean lower low water (MLLW) with a sea cargo operation and an activated Foreign Trade Zone; a competitively priced full-service rail; a four-lane highway linking Aberdeen to Interstate 5 at Olympia; and an airport with a 5,000 foot jet-capable runway and ILS services.

Seaport

The gem of the County is it's deep-water Port. Grays Harbor is maintained at >36 mllw (mean low low water depth) in the main channel. It is the only deep-water port located on the Washington Coast and the only one on the Pacific north of San Francisco. The Pacific Ocean is only two hours sail from the private docking facilities located on the Chehalis River. The Port boasts 4 marine terminals: three have full docking facilities, two have warehousing, one has cargo cranes and one has a tie-up area for barge loading. Terminal 3 has a 600' concrete dock and 150 prime acres that are available for sale or lease.

Highways

Grays Harbor County's uncongested transportation routes deliver your products to market without the congestion of urban areas. There are 218 miles of state highway in the county. State Hwy 8/U.S. Hwy 12 connecting the Port with Olympia at I-5 is at only 20% capacity as compared with I-5, which is often over 90% capacity in many areas of Puget Sound. Five major highways converge within the county to provide easy, uncongested access to all communities.

Trucking

There are 14 trucking firms offering long-haul service and another 6 that provide local cartage. With the heavy volume of lumber shipped to and from Grays Harbor, numerous independent truckers also serve the area on a regular basis. Grays Harbor is served by United Parcel Service, Federal Express and other overnight and ground shipping companies.

Rail

The Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad is a Washington shortline that operates daily on 60 miles of track in the county and interchanges with both the Burlington Northern and Union Pacific Railroads. Having the capability to interchange with both these railroads provides very competitive freight rates to destination service throughout the United States. Puget Sound and Pacific is a subsidiary of RailAmerica, which owns 39 railroads and control 11,000 miles of track in four countries.

Airports

Bowerman Airport, located on the bay in Hoquiam, has a 5,000 foot jet-capable runway and full ILS navigational services. Other public airports include one in Elma, which is adjacent to the Satsop Industrial Park, one in Ocean Shores and one in Westport. Major airport facilities and commercial airlines are available at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, an hour and a half from downtown Aberdeen, and Portland International Airport, which is less than 3 hours by Interstate 5. For more county airport information, click airports.

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