Sultan christens upgraded water booster pump station

Leaders from the city of Sultan hosted a ribbon cutting to unveil the newly completed water booster pump station upgrade on Wednesday, May 25, at the site of the new water station at 31020 124th St. S.E.

Funding for the project started more than a year ago and was provided entirely by the city through a water bond and water capital funding programs.

"With a project cost of $2.2 million, this was a heavy lift for the city,GÇ¥ said Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick prior to the ribbon cutting.

The city of Sultan was established in the late 1880s and officially incorporated in 1905. The growing community in East Snohomish County has a population fast approaching 5,000. This upgrade was much needed to serve the growing community.

The upgrade was made possible largely in part to the involvement of Trane, a subsidiary of Ingersoll Rand and a leader in sustaining energy efficient environments. The corporation improves the performance of homes and buildings around the world.

Trane consultants and subcontractors partnered with the city of Sultan and Washington State Department of Enterprise Services. Other companies directly involved with the upgrade were RH2 Engineering, Quality Control Corporation, Interwest and Foy.

The pump station improvements will help ensure sufficient flow during high demand. The upgrades replaced aging and unreliable equipment, maximizing energy efficiency and ensuring the booster pump station can provide sufficient flow during a fire event that would potentially create high demand within the system.

The upgrades included installing five booster pumps and an above-grade metal building to house the pump station's electrical, control and pumping equipment. The project team added a new outdoor emergency generator adjacent to the new booster pump station building. In addition to achieving the primary objective of the project, ensuring sufficient water flow, especially in the event of a fire, the project also generated energy and operations savings.

"A significant effort was made to reduce costs through value engineering, approaching the Legislature for grant funding and rebidding the project in the winter months in an attempt to get lower bidsGÇ¥ Eslick said.-á

The improvements will reduce maintenance and operations costs by $12,500 for three years and cut utility costs by more than $2,700 a year, according to the city. The project also qualified for $6,800 in energy conservation incentives from the Snohomish County Public Utility District.

"Through the state we get guaranteed pricing, so if it comes in above the price, we don't have to pay, but the contractor has to beat it. If it comes in less, we get the savings,GÇ¥ said city administrator-á Ken Walker, "so it is a guaranteed price.GÇ¥

Grants and volunteer coordinator Donna Murphy has been organizing groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings for the city for many years.

"Most of the times it's grant funded, and we wanted to show appreciation for the grants that we received,GÇ¥ she said. "This one was not grant funded, but we still wanted to show our appreciation.GÇ¥

"It is not about the mayors, it is about the employees and who they hire to get the job doneGÇ¥ Eslick said. "I'm just the mayor. I just hire the right people to make sure the job gets done right.GÇ¥

Walker added the upgrade was very important for meeting the community's growing needs.