Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MILLCREEK — It's one long, cool drink of water — 40 million gallons to be precise.
But the vessels that hold a large share of the drinking water supply for Salt Lake City and unincorporated Salt Lake County are so advanced in age they could qualify for senior citizen discounts.
"It's an old facility. Our consultants have advised us it's something that needs to be replaced because of seismic issues," said John Kirkham, chairman of Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy Board of Trustees.
On Monday, the trustees will consider a $15 million bond resolution as the first funding phase of a replacement project for the reservoirs.
Engineering work for the replacement/construction project began about four years ago, said project engineer Greg Loscher of Bowen, Collins & Associates.
The project, estimated to cost $30 million, will be handled in five phases starting in 2012 and concluding in 2018, according to a letter from the water district to area residents.
The first phase includes replacing existing pipelines at the site, which range in size from 12- to 72-inch diameter pipes. This phase, which is scheduled from January 2012 through June 2013, will also include the placement of concrete vault structures.
The second phase, scheduled between June 2013 and January 2014, involves construction of a new chemical and control building to provide water disinfection, electrical and control equipment for the new reservoirs.
The third phase involves construction of a new 8.9 million gallon reservoir west of the existing Salt Lake City Sam Park Reservoir. It is located on land owned by Salt Lake City, north of the water district's land and reservoirs.
This buried concrete reservoir, which will provide needed storage during the construction of the larger vessels on the water district's property, is scheduled to be built between February 2014 and February 2015.
The fourth phase, between March 2015 and December 2017, includes demolishing the existing 20 million gallon reservoir on the north end of the water district's property and replacing it with a 27.6 million gallon buried concrete reservoir.
The final phase, January-December 2018, will be demolishing the 20 million gallon south terminal reservoir and replacing it with an 11.3 million gallon buried concrete reservoir.
Loscher said the phased approach will ensure there will be no disruptions to drinking water deliveries or fire projection.
"This facility provides drinking water to unincorporated Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City. Those agencies cannot do without water for extended periods of time," he said.
The three reservoirs will accommodate nearly 48 million gallons in three enclosed concrete cells. The reservoirs are fed by the Salt Lake Aqueduct, which draws water from Deer Creek Reservoir. Water is treated at a facility upstream from the reservoirs.
The bid opening for the project has been scheduled for Sept. 14. The water revenue bonds will be repaid through property tax assessments on homes and businesses in the district, as well as proceeds from the district's wholesale water sales.
The nondescript reservoirs are a lifeline to a large swath of the Salt Lake Valley, but many people drive past them not realizing they are there.
"It's one of those facilities people look at and wonder what it is," Kirkham said.
Built 60 years ago, the reservoirs hold water from as far away as the north fork of the Duchesne River for delivery as far away as Salt Lake City International Airport, Kirkham said.
"It's an elaborate delivery system, a great system, really," he said.
While the long-term integrity of the reservoirs is a concern, the existing reservoirs were constructed long before building codes contemplated seismic issues, Loscher said.
"It's not so much that they're unsound," he said. "There was no seismic criteria when they were built in the 1950s."
Email:mcortez@ksl.com
