City of Wenatchee proposes new 8-million-gallon reservoir on Okanagan Street property owned by Wenatchee School District

City of Wenatchee utility officials on a recent Wenatchee School District board agenda presentation outlined plans to replace the city's aging Okanagan Street water reservoir and said the most feasible site is a set of parcels owned by the school district near Crawford and Okanagan streets.

The city's presentation, led by Darcy Ronning, utility project manager, with Deputy Public Works Director Jessica Shaw and Assistant Community Director Steven Neuenschwander, said the existing Okanagan Street reservoir was built in 1930, is past its expected service life, is leaking, and that the city's water system must expand to meet growth and fire-protection needs. "There's no alternative for water. There just really isn't ... We cannot create more water," Ronning said during the presentation.

Why it matters: the proposed project would affect how the district may use those parcels for athletics, parking, future school facilities or housing because the city proposes building a larger tank on or adjacent to the district's property and, in some scenarios, purchasing three parcels and then potentially selling or developing the remaining land. The city said replacing the reservoir is driven by safety (fire flow and system resiliency), system leakage and long-term planning for growth and infill housing.

The city described the technical and financial reasons it favors the school-owned site: it lies on the same hydraulic grade as the city's other reservoirs (reducing need for additional pumping), has existing plumbing connections, and is one of relatively few available parcels at the required elevation. Darcy Ronning told the board engineers estimate a larger, modern reservoir could be sited in a lower corner of the property so the tank could be partially buried and screened from neighbors.

Costs and components described by the city's team included: - Estimated current replacement cost for the reservoir project: about $16,000,000 (city estimate). - Gear Road extension: $1,200,000. - Football/soccer field: $750,000. - Stormwater improvements (piped solution likely): $500,000 to $1,000,000 (engineers' range; city noted likely toward the $1,000,000 end given infiltration results). - Parking lot (90 stalls, built to city standards): $1,200,000. - Land value estimate for the developable portion: about $650,000; hypothetical residential build-out cost estimate: $10,000,000 to $16,500,000.

Jessica Shaw, deputy public works director, summarized the utility imperative and funding constraint: "All of our money that we use to maintain and to rebuild the system comes from our utility rates," and noted the city will seek grants and loans but that federal and state funding is competitive and uncertain.

Technical details the city provided: the municipal system serves roughly 27,000 customers; regional water demand is about 10.5 million gallons per day, of which the city accounts for roughly 30% to 40%. The city currently operates four reservoirs (largest 8 million gallons; another 4 million; plus 2 smaller tanks of 2 million and 1 million gallons). The Okanagan Street reservoir is leaking and, per city analysis, the municipality loses about 22% of water system-wide to leaks each year. The city said it is modeling future demand and determined an 8-million-gallon facility would both meet projected growth and allow the city to take other large reservoirs offline for replacement without compromising fire protection.

Board concerns and district context: board members asked whether the city would acquire the entire contiguous property or only a portion for the tank, and whether the district should instead hold the land for future use (athletics, affordable housing or capital revenue). One unnamed board member said using the district's land for affordable housing or selling it at fair market value could help the district replenish capital funds; the city replied the canal and parcel configuration constrain direct development and that the city could buy specific parcels and make some areas more developer-friendly by building roads, stormwater and utilities first.

City timeline and next steps: the city described a two-track process: design to approximately 30 percent with Stantec as the engineer to refine footprint and costs, and then pursue layered funding packages (grants and loans) because a single funding source is unlikely to cover the full cost. The city presented an optimistic five-year timeline to complete funding and construction if grants and permitting proceed quickly, but also cautioned that funding and permitting cycles can stretch the project timeline. Ronning said the city intends robust community outreach and student/staff engagement during design.

No formal action or vote was taken by the school board during the meeting; the discussion was informational and the city asked the district to continue dialogue as the project advances. The city said multiple options remain on the table and emphasized it would seek to minimize neighborhood impacts through partial burial, landscaping and phased construction.

Ending note: city staff emphasized that replacement is a system-level need tied to growth and fire protection; the board said members will consider the presentation, circulate questions, and follow up once absent members have had a chance to review the materials.