HomeMy WebLinkAboutG-629 Ockert 12-26-2023 Current Planning Public Comments and Testimony
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of a tree removal request.All written comments and materials are due by the deadline listed on the Notice.
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Case Number* Please see Notice for correct LU or tree appeal number.
LU 23-0002/AP 23-04:A request for an RP District(wetland) Unavoidable Crossing
to Install a Sewer Line and Serial Lot Line Adjustments.
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Case Number- LU 23-0002/AP 23-04:A request for an RP District(wetland) Unavoidable Crossing
Verification* to Install a Sewer Line and Serial Lot Line Adjustments.
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First Name* Karl
Last Name* Ockert
Address Street Address
910 Cumberland Road
Address Line 2
City State/Province/Region
Lake Oswego OR
Postal/Zip Code
97034
Email* karl@ockertbrewserv.com
Stance:* r Support
C' Opposition
r Neither for nor against
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File Upload Viable alternative LU 23-0002.pdf 163.31KB
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December 24, 2023
Submitted by Karl Ockert, 910 Cumberland Road
Regarding LU-23-0002
Referencing testimony at the December 18, 2023 DRC hearing from:
Bonnie Magolin, Emerio Design, for the applicant (time stamp 19:12)
Chip Corbett, City resident, opposed to the project (time stamp 1:42:53)
Ms. Magolin testified that gravity fed (flowing downhill) systems are the preferred method of transferring wastewater
from sources to the main collector trunk lines, but “if there is no gravity, then there is a need for a pump station.”
Wastewater pumping stations are a practical tool to overcome a lack of downhill gravity flow. When they are properly
designed and maintained, they are reliable and are commonly used. Lake Oswego operates 12 pump stations throughout
the city and they range in capacity from 32-3,500 gallons per minute. Table 4.7, below, lists the twelve LO pump stations
in current operation.
Pump stations provide a vital part of our wastewater infrastructure to accommodate areas where gravity flow is not
possible. The Bryant Road pump station was installed in 2010 to service new developments in that area and the 2013 LO
Wastewater Master Plan Update (page 27) calls for improvements to the Willamette and Foothills pump stations to
“Increase capacity concurrent with developing plans for the Foothills Development.” A new pump station to service the
Canal Basin was proposed in the 2013 LO Wastewater Master Plan Update (page 307) to replace the Childs Road pump
station currently operated by Clean Water Services (CWS) which is a Washington County utility serving the Tualatin
watershed. Pump stations are used by the city as viable alternatives to gravity flow.
Oregon pump station designs are specified by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) through the Oregon DEQ
Wastewater Pump Station Design Standards.
According to the DEQ design standards, a wastewater pump station must include:
• At least 2 pumps that each have the capacity to pump the maximum required flows
• An underground wet well to accumulate wastewater for the pump
• Above grade housing for pump controls, which must have an uninterruptible power supply
• Capacity for a backup pump power source, for instance an onsite or portable generator
• An alarm system to alert City maintenance of power/flow interruption
As Mr. Corbett testified, engineering problems are solved by engineers using the systems and equipment available to
them. He noted that pumps can lift water hundreds if not thousands of feet. In this case there is a wastewater manhole
at Bonaire Avenue to the southeast of the proposed five housing sites. The Bonaire site would require a lift of about
seven feet from the source to the manhole outlet piping and from there the wastewater would flow downstream by
gravity.
Below are just two of many options available as alternatives for resolving the issue without disturbing sensitive park
lands:
1. The applicant could install, at their own expense, a pump station on its property, but with City utility easements.
At the pump station wastewater could collect and then be pumped through a new line down Inverurie Road, a
relatively short distance compared to the proposed wetlands path, to the Bonaire Avenue manhole where it
would proceed by gravity flow. An onsite generator could automatically supply backup power in case of electrical
failure.
2. The applicant could trench and install a new pipe down Inverurie Road to the Bonaire manhole. The wastewater
would flow by gravity in the new pipeline to a new pump station at the manhole location and be discharged to
the Bonaire trunk line where again, it would proceed by gravity flow. Once again, an onsite generator could
automatically supply backup power in case of electrical failure.
Unlike the other alternative manholes at Alison Place or Terra Place, which may face constraints by Intergovernmental
agreements (IGA’s) with Clean Water Services (CWS), the Bonaire manhole wastewater piping is connected to the same
manhole at Waluga Park as the applicant’s project proposes. There are no CWS issues with the Bonaire manhole (Exhibit
F-018 Engineering Memo, page 10).
A pump station servicing the 5 proposed lots on the corner of Kimball and Baliene streets (and possibly other properties
on Kimball) to the established Bonaire Avenue manhole is clearly a feasible and viable alternative to trenching a new
wastewater pipe through sensitive wetlands in west Waluga Park. The trenched wetland would leave a 17 foot wide by
857 foot long swath of shrubs where no trees would be allowed to grow, thus directly and permanently damaging a
natural feature of the park.
Although gravity flow has always been the city ’s preference for wastewater drainage, LO currently operates 12 pump
stations, with plans to improve the Foothills and Willamette stations and build a large new Childs Road station. A pump
station is a feasible, viable alternative to consider for the proposed development on Baliene Street.
Please deny the application to trench through Waluga Park.
Table 4.7 source: 2013 LO Wastewater Master Plan Update, page 129