Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Tumwater City Council authorized extra funding to redesign components of a 3 million gallon water reservoir tank off 93rd Avenue near the southern end of the city.
On June 16, the council approved a contract amendment with RH2 Engineering, Inc., increasing the contractor's maximum payout to $1,879,960 from $1,740,060 in order to cover design changes.
The additional money is going to pay for engineering services to address the realignment of an associated water main and new stormwater facilities.
The city plans to build the reservoir to increase water capacity in the area and secure sufficient water flow for firefighters.
The project includes a dedicated control room, a 1,500-foot access road off 93rd Avenue and water main extensions into nearby roads.
During a Public Works Committee meeting on June 4, Project Manager Jeff Query said the project is in its final design stage, but environmental and geological hurdles necessitated additional design work.
Under the original design, the new water main would have been installed along 93rd Avenue. Geotechnical testing revealed shallow bedrock along the route, which would have required costly construction measures.
The original route would have also conflicted with a future roadway improvement to grade down a large bedrock hump on 93rd Avenue. Had the city stuck with its plan, it would be forced to relocate the water main in the future.
To address the issues, the city coordinated with the Tumwater School District to realign the water main away from 93rd Avenue and directly into a school district property.
Another issue was that because of the length of the access road to the site, stormwater runoff became a compliance factor.
The team originally intended to utilize natural dispersion to allow water runoff to flow into natural swales or dispersion areas. Site testing revealed non-infiltrating soils underneath the access road, making the original plan not feasible.
The project must include a new infiltration system in order to ensure compliance with environmental regulations.
Once design and permitting have been completed, Query said staff aim to bid the project out by spring 2027 and have construction start in the summer 2027.
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mathisje
Excellent example of due diligence and good planning.
Friday, June 26 Report this
OlyBlues
Due to massive incompetence and negligence from prior leadership at the city of Tumwater, they are forced to now increase water capacity due to the Port of Olympia's poor decision to lease a large Coca-Cola (Swire) facility that will pull millions of gallons of water from our precious aquifers for their corporate greed. The water pressure for residents off 93rd is already horrible. The JOLT covered the Port's malfeasance quite well previously: https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/proposed-swire-facility-in-tumwater-raises-concerns,19471
Saturday, June 27 Report this