Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Call Lake water project moves into final testing; treated supply expected to enter distribution in coming weeks
Summary
City staff gave a technical update on the Call Lake Water Supply Project: about 70 miles of pipeline, eight construction segments, terminal storage reservoirs of roughly 7.5 million gallons each, final hydraulic tests completed and a 30-day treated-water testing window before staff plans to introduce water to the distribution system, likely in July.
Raleigh presented a technical briefing on the Call Lake Water Supply Project and told the commission the program has entered its final commissioning and testing stage, with hydraulic testing and manual startup finished and automation and programming being finalized.
Project overview and scale Raleigh said the project includes an intake, about 70 miles of pipeline divided into eight segments, booster and pump stations, a treatment plant with coagulation, flocculation, ozone and granular-activated-carbon filtration, and terminal storage reservoirs each holding about 7.5 million gallons. He said the intake shaft is approximately 300 feet from shore and roughly 100 feet deep at the intake location.
Permitting, construction challenges and capacity Raleigh said the project required roughly 100 permits (including NEPA and DEQ) and involved right-of-way acquisitions across about 230 parcels on the pipeline corridor and 25 parcels for distribution. He described long bores under major waterways and noted the first two pipeline segments are steel (36" stepping to 30") while the remaining ~60 miles are concrete cylinder pipe. Individual intake pumps are rated to move about 6–7 million gallons per day; Raleigh added that the system could be scaled (with additional booster stations) to convey significantly higher flows if required.
Testing, water quality and next steps Raleigh said manual start-up and hydraulic testing are complete and the team is now running individual process tests and completing a 30-day treated-water verification period (not yet introduced into distribution) to ensure the system meets state and federal water-quality standards. "The next 30 days is the key," Raleigh said; staff said they hope to place treated water into the distribution system by July but will notify the commission and community before doing so. Questions from commissioners and residents covered water hardness, potential odors and nearby pump noise; Raleigh said blending surface and groundwater produces water similar to existing groundwater quality and the treatment process (including GAC) is intended to control taste and odor.
Outlook No formal action was requested or taken during the update. Staff characterized the project as near completion of construction and commissioning; if tests go as planned, the city expects to introduce treated Call Lake water into distribution in the weeks after the 30-day verification period.
