PORT ANGELES — Work on the Dungeness off-channel reservoir continues, but funding is going to be a problem.
The Clallam County Board of Commissioners heard a presentation updating them on the project during their work session meeting Monday morning. During that update, the board was told that to get a final design on the project, they’re about $1.1 million to $1.4 million short.
“To get that final design, we’re going to need more funding,” said Deputy Director Steve Gray.
In October, Clallam County purchased approximately 400 acres from the state Department of Natural Resources along River Road and Happy Valley Road south of U.S. Highway 101 and Sequim. The $1.24 million purchase was paid for with a state grant.
The county plans to build a reservoir on the site as well as a stormwater capture and aquifer recharge infiltration facility. Design work on the reservoir is set back due to potential siesmic activity on the site, which required the preliminary design be reset, Anchor QEA Project Manager David Rice said.
“We’re busy looking at option E1 to move that design forward,” Rice said. Option E1 is a two cell version of the reservoir with pipes running beneath the Bonneville Power Administration’s power easement on the site.
The project is short $119,000 to complete the preliminary design.
“We think there are ways to refine design with assumptions to push capacity up to 1,300 acre feet,” Rice said. “The design can adjust the embankment slopes, top and bottom elevations of reservoir and shift closer to the road. Because the reservoir footprint has shifted, we do need to do a little bit more exploration to understand what the soils are like.”
The next step is to schedule and complete priority borings, which Rice said would likely happen in late summer or early fall.
The design team will also want to take a closer look at landslide hazards on the hillside to the east, according to a slideshow presentation.
Cleanup of the dumpsite which was on the land is set to begin in July and take four to six weeks, project coordinator Rhiana Barkie said.
Savings from the dumpsite cleanup could possibly be used to cover the budget shortfall for the preliminary design, Barkie said.
Construction on the project depends on a FEMA Hazard Mitigation grant for $30 million, which the county has applied for.
Gray said the project is being worked on in phases and that a “Go, no go” point will come when they know if construction is funded.
The goal is to have the design shovel-ready, Gray said.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
