Rock in a Hard Place: City of TD perseveres on East 9th St
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles, Ore., Sept. 3, 2025 — Despite multiple obstacles and even stolen equipment, The City of The Dalles has dug in on the sewer and storm water upgrades at the corner of Quinton and Ninth streets.
They have battled to remove an illegal house, and are dealing with ten feet of basalt to move the project forward.
Sometimes, you have to push a rock up the hill - or better yet smash it into pieces or use it to build a house.
The East Ninth Street project reflects persistence and tenacity to deliver a modern sewer system designed with capacity for multiple residential connections — a key step toward phasing out aging septic tanks, protecting public health, and bringing more homes onto city infrastructure.
It all started in 2022.
The city first had to clear the way for any East Ninth Street improvements by ordering the removal of an illegally built house near the corner of Quinton and Ninth. After the council declared the structure a nuisance, demolition crews and heavy equipment were brought in almost immediately to tear down and haul away the dwelling, opening the corridor for future sewer, stormwater and street work.
In January, councilors voted to create the reimbursement district for the East Ninth Street Sanitary Sewer Main Improvements project. Thed reimbursement fee for new connections to the City’s sanitary sewer system within the reimbursement district is $3,856.28 per home.
The following month, on Feb. 24, the council authorized a contract not to exceed $192,710 with McCallum Rock Drilling for rock-drilling work needed to install a new sanitary sewer main and storm main near Quinton and East 10th streets. According to the staff report, crews will pre-drill three-inch holes roughly 10 feet deep across the trench line to ease excavation through basalt. The work started in February.
The sewer runs along the gravel portion of East Ninth Street while the storm system will extend closer to Heck ‘Triangle’ Park. The work is budgeted from the Wastewater Collection fund, which had about $629,929 available for the project as of the January supplemental budget.
Work on the utility installation began in the spring. And it was not long before the City’s Skid Steer went missing.
A skid steer similar to this one was stolen from the construction site earlier this year. It weighs more than two tons.
Avoiding the Rock Rattle and Roll
The drilling plan was chosen to reduce vibration impacts near a historic stacked-rock house at 1830 East Ninth Street, photo below. City staff noted that the pre-drilling method should lessen risks compared to blasting or hammering through solid rock.
The Charles Bernard “Rock” House
This Rustic Bungalow Style house commonly known as the “Rock House” was built in 1924 by local citizen Charles “Chas” Bernard. “Chas” Bernard was born in France in 1866 and moved to the Los Angeles, California vicinity in 1883, herding sheep there for a few years before moving on to the Reno, Nevada area for a few years, and finally arriving in The Dalles in 1902. Initially, Chas Bernard farmed wheat and hay and herded sheep in the 5-Mile and 15-Mile Creek areas. He moved into The Dalles, as he said, “to give my children better educational advantages.”
This house employs a highly ornamental pebble and cobble stone veneer masonry system for the walls and chimneys. The windows are one over one double-hung with narrow border lights. The “rock” theme of the house is complimented with a historic rockery and fountain in its landscape.
While the drilling has been completed, the excavation for the installation of the storm drain is expected to occur in coming weeks.
