Vancouver’s Water Station 1 is the city’s most important well field. Located at Water Works Park in the Central Park neighborhood, it’s the city’s oldest station.
“The site’s been around since the late 1800s, early 1900s, serving water,” said Michelle Henry, a Vancouver civil engineer.
Some of the existing infrastructure on site has been in place since the early 1900s. The 1 million gallon reservoir, for example, was built in 1909. That reservoir, and its 4 million gallon counterpart, are being replaced as part of the station’s three-phase improvement project.
Phase 1 construction began at the end of 2016 and is now about 40 percent complete. Construction should wrap by September 2018. Meanwhile, the process for Phase 2 has begun. The project’s pre-application was submitted Oct. 24 to the city. Construction should begin in 2019.
In addition to replacing the two reservoirs, which add 3 million storage gallons to the site, the water tower will also be replaced by a 1 million gallon standpipe.
“The ultimate goal of this project is to preserve our most important site and what is our oldest site,” said Tyler Clary, Vancouver engineering program manager.
Water Station 1 produces roughly 30 percent of the city’s supply.
“It plays a really vital role for us in that if we were to lose other sites or other water stations we need to have this source be reliable for us so we can get the water out of it and to those other areas,” Clary said.
The planning process isn’t easy, Henry said.
“It’s really complicated trying to figure out the sequencing of construction,” she said.
First, one of the new reservoirs will be constructed in place of the existing amphitheater. Once the reservoir is online, work on replacing the second 1 million gallon reservoir can begin.
The site will also see changes to the pedestrian area, including a bike path for commuters.
“We’re doing everything we can to open things up and secure the site and make it as safe as possible,” Henry said.
Security is an ongoing concern planners hope to mitigate with additional lighting and security cameras.
“A lot of our concern is for operators who get called in the middle of the night,” she said. “(We want to) make sure they’re safe and able to feel safe when they enter a site. Right now they might get an intrusion alarm but they have no idea if somebody is actually in there.”
Construction for Phase 2 is expected to wrap up in late 2021.
Phase 3 will begin in 2022, with the relatively simple task of replacing three wells.
When the project is all said and done, it will cost between $35 and $40 million. Funding doesn’t come from a bond or other loan source, but from an ongoing small rate increase.
In 2016, the Vancouver City Council approved an annual 5 percent rate increase through 2020.
“Council has maintained the fact that we want to be proactive about our rates,” Clary said. “We’re on a pay as you go policy.”
Once the Water Station 1 project wraps, the city will move onto the next one. Water Station 5, near Tower Mall, has been identified as next in line, followed by Water Station 3 at West 43rd Street and Northwest Washington Street.
“That’s what all of these projects are moving toward, making them more reliable,” Clary said.
