TD City Council poised to spend $950 K on Dog River Pipeline materials
The Dog River Pipeline is part of the system that delivers water to The Dalles Water Treatment Plant on Mill Creek Road in The Dalles. City Councilors are looking to forge ahead on a major pipeline upgrade to stop huge water losses during spring runoff.
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles City Council is poised to approve near $1 million on purchasing materials for the long-awaited Dog River Pipeline replacement project at their regular meeting set for 5:30 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, Monday, Feb. 14.
Click here to attend the meeting via Zoom.
Click here to read the agenda and packet.
The pipeline project has been on the books for years as the century-old wooden line has been leaking like a sieve, up to a million gallons a day during peak surface water demand days.
The new pipeline is planned to be designed for 100-year service life and could increase the system's daily water diversion from 8 million gallons to 17 million gallons.
The greatest leakage occurs in the spring when the pipeline is running full. It has been estimated that leakage may be as high as 1 million gallons per day under these conditions, which is about 12% of the existing pipeline capacity.
The section of the pipeline is approximately 3.5 miles long and has a 20-inch diameter. Public Works Director David Anderson said the new line will allow for greater operational flexibility as the city utilizes both surface and well water in supplying the city and commercial industry.
The pipeline will also augment the city’s ability to supply millions of gallons of water daily to future Google data plants if built. Current plans call for storing surface water in The Dalles Groundwater Reservoir via wells on Google property in the Port of The Dalles.
Google has agreed to pay for $28.5 million in City Water upgrades in preparation for bringing the data plants online.
The amount of leakage that occurs in the Dog River Pipeline in the spring means that more water has to be diverted from the Dog River Water Shed.
The City hopes to greatly increase the storage of surface water from the watershed in the groundwater reservoir in years to come. It is also a hedge against drought conditions.
The City, in an effort to gain permits for the pipeline upgrade, has submitted the project to the US Army Corps of Engineers, Oregon Division of State Lands, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the State Historic Preservation Office, according to City Staff reports. A timber removal contract is also being finalized and will be advertised for proposal soon, the report states.
The City has budgeted $10.5 million for the project.
The construction contract is scheduled to be advertised for bid in March with an award in late April or early May. Construction is scheduled to occur in 2022 and 2023.
To get the project moving quickly, the City advertised a separate contract for the City to purchase 13,250 feet of pipe and fittings needed for use in 2022.
By ordering this pipe early, the construction contractor will be able to avoid a delay of weeks or months if an order for the pipe was to be delayed until after the construction contract was awarded, according to the staff report.
The Port of The Dalles, who has been an essential supporter of this project over the years for the acquisition of outside funding, is working with City staff to make a parcel of its property available to store the pipe.
Staff is recommending that City Council award the bid contract for materials to Core and Main LP for $951,882.
In other business, City Council will review the recent survey of local citizens regarding the 2040 vision of The Dalles. The City is planning several more meetings to garner additional ideas about what is most important for the city during the next 18 years.
Read the survey results here.
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Also,, City Council is expected to approve the mayor’s resolution to appoint Lindsey Giamei to fill the open position on the Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Committee, left by Gary Grossman.
Giamei with her husband Tom are owners of the former American Legion building at 201 E. Second Street, which now currently holds their family business The Workshop as well as Gorge City Barbering and Willow and Bark Boutique.
