The Washington City Council approved an engineering agreement for a water main extension north of the Wellness Park during their recent meeting.

City Administrator Brent Hinson explained that they have planned for an extension between a 12-inch loop at the North Water Tower to the city’s existing 12-inch loop at West 15th and Marion Avenue since the construction of the new tower in 2016. This is designed to improve water pressure and redundancy in the northwest part of town. The Maintenance & Construction Department constructed a major portion of this water main in 2019 as part of the Wellness Park improvement plan.

The city has about 2,100 feet of water main remaining to construct to complete the loop. About 660 feet of this lies on city property, with the rest on property owned by James and Katie Deao. Easement negotiations have been completed, and the city is now ready to have Jack Pope of Garden & Associates design the improvements. Maintenance & Construction is anticipated to construct most of the water main, with the 350 feet remaining to be done by a hired contractor for work that involves the Deao driveway and going under North Marion to the existing 12-inch loop. The city hopes to start on the Maintenance & Construction portion after the crop is out this fall, and then bid out the contracted project possibly in the spring.