City prepares to launch new water tank in Orchards
Reservoir near high school intended to address future supply demand in area
The logos of Lewiston High School, Lewis-Clark State College and the city of Lewiston will adorn a new water reservoir that is scheduled to be finished in the spring.
A security fence will eventually surround the reservoir at 3232 Community Drive, near LHS and LCSC’s Schweitzer Career and Technical Education Center.
The 34-foot tall, 95-foot diameter steel tank of the 1.7 million gallon reservoir is in place, but the addition to the city of Lewiston’s water system won’t go online until the spring after a few more steps are completed, said Dustin Johnson, Lewiston’s public works director.
The exterior has to be coated with a protective layer to prevent it from being damaged by the weather.
The interior has to be covered with a material to prohibit water from leaking and the keep the metal from rusting, he said.
The applications of those layers have to wait because they can’t happen when the weather is too hot or too cold, Johnson said.
“The project is moving along nicely,” he said.
The reservoir’s completion will open doors for a variety of development.
“It’s to address future demand and fire flow up in that area,” he said.
The city’s infrastructure can support what is there now, but doesn’t have the capacity to handle new housing developments in that neighborhood or irrigation systems for high school athletic fields and improvements to Community Park.
A long-term, $95 million plan for Community Park calls for numerous upgrades such as a large playground, splash pad and amphitheater. The city council has accepted the plan, but hasn’t yet identified a timeline or funding.
The reservoir on Community Drive is costing about $5 million and is part of a multi-year overhaul of the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure.
Other portions include a $34 million renovation of the city’s wastewater treatment plant that was completed in October and a $31 million retrofit of the city’s water treatment plant that is slated to be done in 2023.
A $6 million well on Nez Perce Grade that is done has become the city’s highest producing well.
The city also plans to improve its water transmission systems on Main Street and figure out how to activate a raw water intake system on the Clearwater River. The city has two intakes and the one slated for work has not functioned since it was installed.
Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
