Rockwood Water PUD and the City of Gresham serve a combined 109,000 people in the rapidly growing Portland metropolitan area. This presented the need to construct a new water well to supplement their current water supply and reduce the cost of paying a premium for water during peak summer months. The PUD hired Murraysmith to conduct site analysis, design, and construction phase services for the largest well in the Portland basin that was expected to save the PUD $8 million and the City $5 million during 2011.
The team of Murraysmith, GSI Water Solutions, Inc. and S&B, Inc. completed the well improvement designs, including a 734-foot-deep well with a 24-inch diameter casing and a capacity of 5,500 gallons per minute (gpm). The well head improvements included 1,050 feet of 20-inch diameter waterline with cathodic protection between the well site and the PUD’s Cascade reservoir and disinfection facilities site; a well house; vertical turbine line shaft pump and motor; and a 1 MW generator. The site improvements included site drainage, paving, and locating the well house on a constrained site (approx. 35 feet by 35 feet) at the Gresham Fire Department property.
The new shared groundwater source helps meet peak demands during the summer and provides a key element of the water supply system for the Rockwood Water PUD and the City of Gresham.
Project Highlights
- Largest well in Portland Basin
- 734 feet deep, 5,500 gpm capacity
- Well head improvements pushed the limits of the available technology
- Site development designs to reduce stormwater runoff
- Sited on fire department property to optimize public land owned by the City
