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SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly a year after Salt Lake City officials paused on advancing a project for a new well pump and housing near Memory Grove amid pushback from residents, the city is once again moving forward on the project, with some alterations.
The 4th Avenue Well project calls for the existing underground pump located near 4th Avenue and North Canyon Road to be replaced with an above-ground pump and a pump house. It’s an area between Memory Grove and City Creek Park, surrounded by homes. The latest adjustment whittles the size of the project from the originally-planned 2,300-square-foot structure to total area of about 622 square feet in space, according to an April 2020 report filed by Bowen Collins & Associates, a Draper-based engineering consultant company.
The newest proposal will be discussed during a public Historic Landmark Commission meeting to be held online May 7 — exactly a year to the day several residents voiced their concerns about the project during a Salt Lake City Council meeting. During that 2019 meeting, residents said they were concerned about the building’s size and also chemicals used in cleaning the pump.
The Salt Lake City Council approved a budget for the project in June 2019 but also asked that alternate designs be made, which paused the project.
City officials said Tuesday that two trees in the space where the pump is will be removed; that’s compared to six trees under the original plan. One of the trees slated to be removed was already dying, they added. Under the new proposal, the design of the building was also altered from a modern design, which some residents of the neighborhood mocked, to a more historic design.
The Bowen Collins & Associates report explained the look of the new pump house was made to be "compatible" with the Avenues Historic District, which the well lies within. The newest design was created after looking at the different building types and styles in the area. In the end, designers incorporated "contemporary brick patterns and colors, simple metal awnings over openings, and modern lighted doors."
"We arrived at this proposed design after meeting with the public after participating in multiple community open houses, presenting at two (Historic Landmark Commission) work sessions, and – in recent months – holding focus groups with immediate neighbors to the site. We have considered public input heavily in the design process, as evident by the significant changes to the form and style of the proposed pump station over the last two years," the report stated. "We believe the proposal currently before the HLC embodies direction we have received from the public, meets the operational and maintenance needs of Public Utilities, and complies with HLC standards and city ordinances."
A need for the well remains the same. The well was first drilled in 1943 and has been active since 1948. The well traditionally only operates from April through October, allowing mostly downtown residents access to 3 million to 7 million gallons per day in extra water supply and pressure during the summertime. Officials say it’s the largest water-producing well in the city.
"This well is a critical — if not key — component to water in that downtown area in the summertime," Jesse Stewart, the city’s water quality and treatment administrator, said in an interview with KSL.com in April 2019.
The online meeting will be streamed live on the city’s YouTube channel and SLCtv Channel 17 at 5:30 p.m. on May 7. People can submit comments for the project proposal by emailing from to historiclandmarks.comments@slcgov.com until Wednesday. People can also submit verbal comments during the May 7 meeting by visiting a website set up for the meeting.
If passed through the meeting and city council, construction on the project could start as early as this fall, city officials said Tuesday.
