Tumwater committee reviews $110 million utilities capital facilities plan, flags near‑term rate pressure

The City of Tumwater Public Works Committee on Oct. 9 reviewed the draft 2026–2031 Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) for the city’s drinking water, sanitary sewer and stormwater utilities, a six‑year program that staff said includes roughly 50 projects and about $110 million in proposed spending.

Dan Smith, a utilities presenter for the city, told the committee the CFP is a planning document, not a set of immediate financial commitments: “These are not, independent, financial commitments for the utilities. They're just part of a multiyear forecast,” he said, describing the CFP as a tool to prioritize projects and evaluate funding needs.

The nut graf: the CFP lists about 14 projects totaling just over $50 million for drinking water, 15 projects totaling about $28.7 million for sanitary sewer, and 21 stormwater projects totaling about $27.5 million. Staff said the plan shows shortfalls against the city’s reserve policy in the next two years and recommended modest rate adjustments this budget cycle while continuing to seek grants and other options to avoid large, sudden increases.

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Smith said the water fund’s projects include two additions this year: deep monitoring wells at the Bush Wellfield to strengthen wellhead protection, and improvements to the Zone 454 booster pump station (design work in 2027, construction mostly in 2028). The Bush monitoring effort would add two to four deeper wells to supplement existing shallow monitoring and test seasonal and deeper aquifer conditions; staff said engineering would begin in 2026 with drilling bids anticipated in early 2027.

The city also plans continued work on the Brewery Wellfield production wells, upgrades at Well 15 (the system’s second‑highest producer)…