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City engineer reports wastewater, stormwater and reservoir projects; $2 million decant grant awarded
Summary
On-call city engineer gave progress updates: wastewater plant upgrades under construction, sewer lining completed under budget, Lift Station No. 5 nearing startup, a $2,000,000 ecology grant for a decant facility won, reservoir/tank design at 90% and several stormwater and street utility projects moving toward construction.
The city’s on-call engineer reported a series of utility and capital projects under way or in design for College Place, including sewer, stormwater, water transmission and an elevated storage reservoir.
The presentation said construction on wastewater treatment plant improvements has begun with an expected completion by year-end, and a previously designed “phase 1B” of upgrades will be bid later this year for construction in 2026. A citywide sewer rehabilitation completed in the prior construction season lined roughly 12,500 feet of sewer pipe and finished about $500,000 under budget; project savings will be applied to the Lift Station No. 5 replacement project. The Lift Station No. 5 work is about 80% complete; remaining tasks include controller delivery (on backorder), startup, landscaping and final paving expected this spring.
On stormwater, staff said the city secured a roughly $2,000,000 ecology grant for a decant facility that will process solids from street-sweeping and vector operations; city staff expect the grant agreement later this year with construction anticipated in 2026. Design work will also proceed on Southwest Tenth stormwater collection/treatment, repair of Outfall 29 (a storm outfall running under a private home), stormwater improvements at the public-works yard, and a Northwest Earl stormwater project after a successful design-funding application.
The engineer presented a multi-part approach to the planned 1,000,000‑gallon Reservoir No. 4 and associated 16‑inch transmission main: split the work into three bid packages (a transmission main tied to the Mijolnir Road reconstruction, the remaining transmission main, and the reservoir itself). The reservoir project is reported fully funded; the team will coordinate alignment to follow a proposed future Owens Road collector.
The Sixth and Birch utility upgrade project (water, sewer and storm) will move forward after securing a low‑interest Public Works Trust Fund loan; staff plan to bid the project this spring and construct it this year. The Martin Airfield study, a $100,000 planning effort, is nearing completion this spring and will document lot layouts and infrastructure needs for potential development.
Consultants also presented safety-related intersection work tied to the safety action plan. At Whitman Drive and Birch Avenue, the recommended solution was a rectangular rapid‑flashing beacon to improve pedestrian crossings, with an estimated implementation cost of about $200,000. For Sixth and Bay, the recommendation is to add stop signs and change the junction to a four‑way stop to reduce speeds in the corridor. Staff asked the committee for feedback on those recommendations.
Commissioners asked questions about project timing, funding agreements with local institutions, and traffic impacts near schools. The engineer noted coordination is required with adjacent jurisdictions for projects that affect shared corridors and that some improvements depend on external funding and permitting.
