City Reservoir Slog
posted by on August 23 at 15:40 PM
I’m obsessed with the city’s reservoir cap program. When I first heard about the caps, I imagined giant bathtub plugs being lowered by a fleet of helicopters, hovering over the city’s reservoirs. Ride of the Valkyries would, of course, be blaring.
Unfortunately, the reality is far less glamorous.
The project came about after 9/11, when the city decided it would be a good idea to keep our precious water supply out of the reach of nefarious evil-doers. The solution: rebuild all of the city’s major reservoirs UNDERGROUND!!! After each reservoir is buried, the land on top of it will be sodded and turned over to the parks department. When everything is finished, the city should have an extra 76 acres of park space to play with.
So far, the $123 million dollar cap program has been a success. Lincoln reservoir was transformed from a big, wet hole in the ground, into Cal Anderson Park in 2005, and the next two reservoir projects—the Myrtle Reservoir in West Seattle and the Beacon Hill Reservoir—will, together, add 23 acres of park space. Construction at the West Seattle Reservoir would come next, followed by Maple Leaf. The Volunteer Park Reservoir and the Roosevelt Reservoir may be decommissioned.
Construction at the Beacon Reservoir.
Photo by David Johanson Vasquez
The only snag so far is the cost. Each park costs about a million dollars to build—addition to the massive cost of tearing down and rebuilding the reservoirs—and the Parks Department only has money in its budget for Myrtle and Beacon. The money for the two parks comes from the Pro Parks levy, which is set to expire next year.
It’s a neat project, but Wagner and helicopters would’ve made it even better.
Woe. :(
While I do enjoy Cal Anderson, I love sitting there above the water in Volunteer Park. It's a great spot to watch the sunset. I know the view itself won't change that much, but I'd miss the big puddle.
That's awesome!
So is there a reservoir UNDER Cal Anderson? Or was that decommissioned...Can't remember seeing that much construction actually.
What a smart thing for the city to do. Despite the slog post I await an article from Josh or ECB attacking it as anti neighborhood.
There is, indeed, a reservoir under Cal Anderson Park. I think Cal Anderson Park was one of the smartest things the city ever did. I love that park.
when i moved here in 87, i was stunned to see uncovered resevoirs. even a shithole like cincinnati has had covered resevoirs for over a hundred years, capped by skating ponds.
yet another legacy of seattle's scandinavian cheapness.
By the way, there is a new website for the Cal Anderson Park Alliance: www.calandersonpark.org
All you Cal Anderson Park fans now have somewhere to express yourself:
www.calandersonpark.org/contact.cfm
As usual, Maple Leaf is last. Maple Leaf never gets anything: no sidewalks, no cool park enhancements, no reservoir park, no traffic enforcement for speeding, no bike lanes, and we nearly lost Sacajawea. On the other hand, we are in a great location and close to stuff, houses are relatively affordable, and the neighborhood is friendly and diverse. I guess if we were a poor neighborhood we'd get stuff, and if we were rich we'd get stuff. So of course Maple Leaf is last. As always.
If the purpose is to make it impossible to impact the water supply, my advice as a former military combat engineer is that it won't work.
As anyone with any experience could tell you.
Jonah--covering reservoirs wasn't a smart thing for the City to do, it was a freakin federal requirement. The City bargained with the feds so that they didn't have to do it all at once.
Now putting parks on top, that's a great idea. Not that the neighborhoods hadn't been asking for it for like, forever.
Damn, I love it when the City finally comes up with a purely public use of open space dollars (I have no illusions about the public safety stuff - but we're still doing well if we are squandering Homeland Security funds on new parks instead of Halliburton and KBR).
Both thumbs up!
PS - Maple Leaf really doesn't have it that tough compared to some parts of town, but don't say so - everyone will decide to move there.
The sad thing about the whole "9/11-Won't-Somebody-Think-About-The-Water-Supply" paranoia is that there are still thousands and thousands of entry points to the water supply ... at least one on every block: fire hydrants. While covering them makes people feel safer, it's like taking your shoes off at the airport or praying in church. All ritual, no god.
Covering reservoirs was required w-a-y before 9/11. The Department of Health regulation (WAC 246-290-470) requires as follows: "Purveyors with uncovered distribution reservoirs shall have a department-approved plan and schedule to cover all reservoirs on file with the department." That regulation was adopted on December 9, 1998 (SR 99-07-021). The first reservoir to be undergrounded was Magnolia Reservoir in 1995.
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