Pateros prepares for ceremonial city-wide flush for December

PATEROS – The pieces are all falling into place for the debut of the new water system for the City of Pateros. At the council meeting Oct. 15, City administrator Jord Wilson reviewed the projects completed or nearing completion as the city counts down to a ceremonial city-wide flush event scheduled for Dec. 7.

The new city reservoir is complete and Tapani, Inc., of Battle Ground, the reservoir contractor is finishing up a punch list of items such as hydroseeding, fence installation, slope protection, and electrical work at the cemetery booster station.

“The reservoir will be filled and tested in the next month, so it is ready to come online when Pump Station 3 is operational,” Wilson wrote in a summary to council members.

“When the pump station is complete on Pearl Street we will do a brief test on the pump,” said Wilson. “Then we will shut down the old system which will be the old wells and the old reservoir and crank up the new pump and we are anticipating doing that the weekend of Thanksgiving.”

Pump Station 3 will handle between 1,000 and 1,500 gallons per minute (GPM), said Wilson, adding that the old pumps are running between 800 and 900 GPM, so one pump will take the place of two pumps.

City engineers, Varela and Associates are in the final stages of constructions documents for the downtown Pump Station 4. The city expects to have a review set of plans in hand in December, so the project can go out for bid in January 2019.

Wilson anticipates that the downtown pump station will be completed in July. The additional pump station will double the city’s pumping capacity and allow alternate shifts with a backup pump so one can be maintained and repaired while the other carries the load.
Switching an entire city water system does not come without some unknowns, said Wilson.

“We’ve identified that we only have to turn off one valve to shut off the old system and turn the new system on,” said Wilson
Owing to a switch in how the new water is coming into the system Wilson expects manganese in the pipes to break loose and residential lines in homes will need to be flushed.

“We’ll make sure we to get the information out, so people know how to do that,” Wilson said.

Mayor Carlene Anders is planning the Ceremonial Flush event for Dec. 7 “marking the significant milestone of the Water Improvement Project” Wilson’s summary said.

“I’m hoping there are no surprises,” said Wilson of the upcoming flush, “but there are always surprises.”