Water storage tops city list

At a special meeting of the Shelton City Council on Tuesday morning, state Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, asked council members and staff to name the city's top two funding priorities as the Legislature's session approaches in January.

"Water storage is number one, one-hundred percent," City Manager Mark Ziegler replied. He added, "That's probably one, two and three, to be honest."

Public Works Director Jay Harris echoed that thought. "We're going to need bigger tanks to spur development," he said.

The city's goal is to start getting rid of the smaller reservoirs and build larger reservoirs, Harris said. The city has "significant development proposals" on the table, including 200 in Olympic Heights and 365 in Coffee Creek, he said.

The city's report on 2025 legislative needs states the city's 2023 water comprehensive plan determined that Shelton has a shortage of reservoir storage for potable water and fire protection. The report points out that all but one of the city's reservoirs are more than 50 years old, and the Capitol Hill and High School reservoirs "are at the end of life and need to be replaced in the next 10 years."

The city proposes building a reservoir that would contain 1.25 to 1.5 million gallons near the existing Mountainview reservoir that would allow existing reservoirs to be decommissioned and add new capacity for development. A new booster pump would allow the tank to serve all the pressure zones in the city. The estimated cost for the reservoir, piping and booster station is $8.5 million.

The city's number-two priority water infrastructure project is a proposed new 1.25-million-gallon reservoir at the top of the Upper Angleside Pressure Zone near Lake Boulevard. The reservoir would serve future development in the upper elevations near Lake Boulevard in the southern part of the city. The estimated cost of the reservoir is $7.5 million.

The city's number-three priority water infrastructure project is adding a well on city-owned land at the intersection of Brockdale Road and Island Lake Drive. The estimated cost for the well and piping is $1.5 million.

Other items on the city's wish list for funding are for a roundabout at Wallace Kneeland Boulevard and Shelton Springs Road; a roundabout at Wallace Kneeland Boulevard and 13th Street/Brockdale Road; and the proposed 2.5-mile crosstown trail from U.S. Highway 101 to the Oakland Bay Marina.

"We'll refine our legislative priority list and give it to the council for approval," Ziegler said. He said the city hopes to have that list ready in December to give it to the legislators representing the 35th District.