Junction City public-works update: Bailey well online, two more wells in design, wastewater upgrades under way

City of Junction City staff gave a standing public-works update at a work session, reporting progress across water, sewer and parks projects and flagging funding needs for multiple well projects.

Gary, a public-works staff member, said Bailey Well is drilled, the building is enclosed, landscaping is under way and equipment deliveries are arriving; the pump and motor will be installed once key doors and equipment arrive. "They ran that well at 600 gallons a minute. They also ran it at 900 gallons a minute," Gary said, adding that the city plans to size the pump conservatively around 600 gpm to protect the well. An initial water-quality test at Bailey found no levels meeting concern thresholds, he said.

Looking ahead, staff said the Raintree Well (to be sited on Raintree Park property and tied into the Fayette Lake distribution) and the Alderdale Well (to serve Alderdale Park and connect on Oakland) are in predesign. Gary said the city has reimbursement-type grants that will cover roughly half of each well and that the city will need to identify additional funds to complete buildings and distribution work. A councilmember summarized higher-level cost context: early indications from Bailey suggest a ballpark of about $2,000,000 per well, so completing both additional wells could require on the order of $4,000,000 more; a broader plant expansion concept discussed for Raintree would look for larger grant packages (staff mentioned an ~$11,000,000 figure for a major water-plant expansion).

Staff described one prior construction problem at Eleventh and Elm involving high manganese concentrations that fouled a previous well. A councilmember said earlier engineers did not relay the manganese data to the city; staff emphasized they now insist on seeing test results before moving forward to avoid repeating past mistakes.

On operations and compliance, staff said a recently completed raw waterline project needs one final purchased part to make the last connection; after re-chlorination and a successful second test, the line will run through the plant and reduce downstream operational impacts. Gary warned that bringing new wells online can temporarily reverse flows and cause short-term dirty-water reports for nearby customers, and staff plan to manage startup rates to minimize complaints.

Water-rights transfers for Bailey have been submitted to the state and staff have paid the fees; Gary estimated state review will take several months. On lead-service-line work, Junction City reported about 20 service connections remain to be inspected and that the city must submit its inventory and replacement plan by Oct. 16. "We have found no lead so far," Gary said, while cautioning that inspection rules (for galvanized-to-lead service configurations) make the work nuanced.

Wastewater work is also active. City staff are negotiating DEQ comments on the MAO and said some DEQ timelines appear aggressive; the permit was renewed earlier this year and staff have returned detailed comments. The wastewater facilities plan and predesign are underway with HPH Engineering using data from a Shannon Wilson feasibility evaluation. Staff completed wetland delineation work for Lot 602 (the newly acquired house and adjoining acreage) and awarded a functions-and-values assessment to Cascade Environmental to estimate mitigation credits for land north of the lagoons; those credits could offset the wetlands the city must purchase as part of a future treatment-plant upgrade. Staff cautioned transcript-reported acreage/credit numbers vary in the meeting and said they will provide formal estimates when Cascade’s study is complete.

Other items: the city is addressing an industrial pretreatment survey (state-required outreach to local businesses), ordered parts for a contact-chamber (shell valve) upgrade and is designing the Tenth and Rose pump-station relocation to a corner lot acquired with a new subdivision. Park improvements (playground equipment, pickleball and basketball court parts) for Bailey Park and parts for Deacon Park have been ordered; some parts are expected in October and installations will be scheduled as deliveries permit.

Council members and attendees thanked staff for the transparent update and asked for an updated spreadsheet comparing previous estimates to recent results; staff agreed to provide updated tracking materials and to follow up on outstanding questions. The work session adjourned without any formal motions or votes on the items presented.