Construction of Sunnyside Reservoir begins

Work on the new Sunnyside Reservoir on the hillside north of Hwy 12 on the west end of Pomeroy is on standby as forms for the concrete tank are built. Construction of the reservoir is scheduled to resume the first week in August.

Site work started on June 20 by Debco Construction, of Orofino, the prime contractor on the project. The photos at left show the installation of a manhole or vault that will house control valves for the reservoir.

The expected completion date for the reservoir is · sometime in the first week of October, with a total work time of four months. Debco will demolish the old reservoir, shown in the top photo, when the new one is in operation. City of Pomeroy public works director Kenny Landkammer said the old reservoir, built sometime in the 1930s or 40s “was about
to fail” and leaking a lot. The old reservoir holds 36,000 gallons and the new one will hold 56,000 gallons. It will have a diameter of 26-feet and stand 16-feet high.

The city received a state Community Development Block Grant of $260,000 earlier this year for the project, after a two-year application process. TD&H Engineering, of Lewiston, is the consulting engineer on the project.

The Sunnyside reservoir is one of four supplying city residents. The other three are the blue tank behind City Hall that has capacity of 1 million gallons, the 23rd St. reservoir holds 107,000 gallons, and the golf course reservoir holds 675,000 gallons.