Showing posts sorted by relevance for query anderson park wellheads. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query anderson park wellheads. Sort by date Show all posts

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Most of the trees in Redmond's oldest city park are saved - for a price



Anderson Park Pump House, 2016
Below is an edited, older 2008 article. I just got home from the "Arts in the Park" event at Anderson Park and thought of this 2008 report when looking at an historical society exhibit. The photos are poorly displayed but it's better than nothing! Bob Yoder 6/25

Anderson Park Pump House during construction, 2008
Anderson Park is Redmond's oldest park and also the home for two city drinking water wells. The wellheads are old and are being replaced. To save many of the park trees the city bought some expensive land a block north to house the treatment plant. 6 trees still had to be removed; 2 were unhealthy. The Board of Parks commissioners led by Chair Lori Snodgrass fought hard for this expensive proposal to preserve Anderson Park. Councilman Vache requested a "fiscal note" to recognize the high cost ($11.6M) of the project.  Read More >>

Monday, September 29, 2008

Most trees in Redmond's oldest city park are saved - for a price

I just got home from the "Arts in the Park" event at Anderson Park and thought of this 2008 report when looking at an historical society exhibit. The photos are poorly displayed but it's better than nothing! Bob Yoder, 6/25/16


Anderson Park
is Redmond's oldest park and also the home for two city drinking water wells. The wellheads are old and are being replaced. To save many of the park trees the city bought some expensive land a block north to house the treatment plant. 6 trees still had to be removed; 2 were unhealthy. The Board of Parks commissioners led by Chair Lori Snodgrass fought hard for this expensive proposal to preserve Anderson Park. Councilman Vache requested a "fiscal note" to recognize the high cost ($11.6M) of the project.















water treatment construction off-site..................................truck is drilling new well in park
View 1.5 minute video clip of Anderson Park under construction HERE
The photo on he right is looking south to one of Anderson Park's old pump houses. It was removed. Click the City of Redmond Notice sign to read the price tag for this project. In my narration I said two new wellheads were "drilled." This is not the case. After this video there's an interesting video on the construction of  Bear Creek Parkway.


















City Description of Proposal: To comment or request information contact: city planner
Steve Fischer
CONSTRUCTION OF NEW PUMP HOUSES TO REPLACE TWO AGING, OUTDATED WELL FACILITIES LOCATED WITHIN ANDERSON PARK
(7802 168TH AVE NE). THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE APPROX. 520 FEET OF NEW 12 INCH WATERLINE BETWEEN THE WELL HOUSES AND THE TREATMENT BUILDING. THE NEW PUMP HOUSES WILL BE APPROX. 16' X 24' IN SIZE AND DESIGNED TO REFLECT THE HISTORIC LOG CABIN APPEARANCE OF THEIR STRUCTURES IN THE PARK. THE ASSOCIATED TREATMENT FACILITY WILL BE LOCATED ONE BLOCK NORTH ON PROPERTY AND WILL BE 44' X 58' IN SIZE. A PACKED TOWER APPROX. 30 FT IN HEIGHT WILL BE USED TO ALTER THE PH OF THE WELL WATER. THE PROJECT WILL IMPROVE AND OPEN THE ALLEY TO TRAFFIC ON THE WEST SIDE...

Bob Yoder

Thursday, June 18, 2009

The cost of good water quality & what we can do.

Two water tanks adjacent Horace Mann El. were repainted inside and out, retrofitted for safety and seismically upgraded for a total cost of $2.8 million.

OPINION: There is no question, the City is investing heavily into our water supply infrastructure, water quality assurance and water conservation programs. Did you know that residents east of Lake Sammamish and the Sammamish River get all their water from the ground?
  • The City has spent millions of dollars retrofitting wellheads to improve treatment and safety standards. ~$11.5 million was recently spent by the City just to upgrade the two wellheads at Anderson Park. Expensive land had to be purchased to save Anderson Park during the wellhead upgrades.
  • The City plans to build a Regional Stormwater Treatment Center in SE Redmond to treat industrial stormwater before it infiltrates into the shallow aquifer (underground lake). A $40 million regional treatment plant is already underway for the downtown. Overlake Regional Facilty is next. Treating dirty stormwater is expensive, as you see on your utility bill, but the regional systems will reduce costs over time.
  • Redmond is a member city of the Cascade Water Alliance. Growing eastside cities would eventually run out of drinking water without a new water source. The Alliance is raising millions of dollars to build a pipeline from the Mt. Ranier watershed to the Eastside. **Emmons glacier on Mt. Ranier is receding but plans are proceeding. Lake Tapps has been secured to store the glacial mountain water before it's piped to the Eastside.
  • Redmond spends a lot of money monitoring for spills and hazardous waste. The City has it's own geologist to oversee groundwater water quality and monitor the protection zones for our wells. Recently, a potential diesel spillage was discovered and quickly addressed with funding from Council for qualified inspection services.

Some great news came out of the the City Water Quality Report, Summer 2009. Did you see it? With all the talk about the safety of our groundwater supply it appears all is well - no pun intended. Did you read that four (4) fewer "compounds" were detected in our groundwater as compared to the Tolt River watershed that supplies residents west of the river? The city's investment in our groundwater supply definitively appears to be paying off.

One of the more significant contaminants now entering our water supply are pharmaceuticals. Councilmember Margeson brought this up at the last Council meeting and handed me the information. When pills and pharmaceuticals are flushed down the toilet or thrown in the garbage they NEVER get treated. And, we could be drinking them. Low levels of pharmaceuticals in drinking water have been found in 24 cities. Get this, pharmaceutical chemicals have been found in about 80% of our nation's urban streams. Please don't flush or trash 'em! Take your unused pills to a pharmacy for disposal. Group Health, Bartell and others participate.

It's estimated that over 120,000 gallons of water is saved per day by Redmond's Conservation Program. Don't forget to tap into the toilet and clothes washer rebates and check your outdoor faucets and hoses before you go on vacation! You can save a bundle. I learned the hard way.

** Read my '07 post on the receeding glaciers that are feeding the Cascade Alliance water pipeline.
Email your questions to Tom Fix, tfix@redmond.gov, City Water Quality Team.
Cascade Water Alliance informational video clip.
Cascade Water Alliance website.

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

UPDATED OPINION: Projects Over Aquifer Susceptible To Earthquakes

AMLI paper notice box empty.  No defined "comment period."  City will post QR codes
 on all yellow boards in the future. (click to enlarge)

Below, is my formal comment to the city planner managing the AMLI Project which is still under review / no decision
.


"I'm concerned about a 6.0 or 7.0 earthquake disrupting or destroying all or some of the projects resting over the city's shallow aquifer.  AMLI is one such project. I recommend the following:  

1)  Delay the AMLI Decision until the City develops a solid plan to mitigate earthquake destruction.  In fact, for all projects under review resting over the shallow aquifer please delay the decision until the city updates their mitigation plan.

2) Impose above standard earthquake mitigation at AMLI and other projects under review resting on the shallow aquifer.  By "above standard" I mean mitigate to standards similar to San Francisco and other highly seismically prone cities.  

3) Require earthquake insurance or bonding.

4) Update the safety evacuation plan.

5) Mitigate damage to infrastructure so undamaged buildings and wellheads nearby can still operate.  A city wellhead in Anderson Park is across the street from AMLI.

Again, these comments apply to AMLI and all other projects "under review" resting over the shallow aquifer.

Unfortunately, my comment for AMLI is exceptionally late owing to the comment period not being  posted on the yellow notice board.  But, you can still make comment by emailing dlee@redmond.gov.

AMLI is one of my favorite projects proposed for the downtown. I hope the project isn't delayed by the City.  

-- Bob Yoder, 9/6/2022