The city of Buckley is taking a look at whether it is feasible for it to take over the Rainier School’s water system.
Elected officials approved a contract with Gray & Osborne, a PNW-based engineering consulting firm with specialties in water projects, during the Aug. 26 meeting.
The cost of the project is $50,000, and is 100% funded by a grant from the Washington State Department of Health.
The feasibility study drew some fire on social media — but first, some history.
“We’ve been on the same system as Rainier State School since the start,” City Engineer Dom Miller said. “They take care of the treatment, and we take care of the transmission lines.”
Buckley’s first water system was built in 1908, but the city started using water from South Prairie Creek in 1926.
When the Rainier School opened in 1938, Buckley initially sold the facility water from the creek.
In 1941, the Rainier School added its own system to South Prairie Creek, parallel to the city’s water main.
And in 1946, the city and the Rainier School jointly improved transmission lines from the creek, which was completed in 1949.
In 1961, both entities drilled their own reservoirs for standby water capacity.
Buckley and the Rainier School have continued this arrangement ever since. This means, according to city documents, the city and the state facility have joint operational responsibility in the water system. The city operates and maintains the water transmission lane that connects to South Prairie Creek. The city also owns the “slow sand filter water treatment plant” but the Rainier School owns the land the plant is on.
The Rainier School operates the treatment plant, and Buckley sends backup.
If all parties get their way — the city, the Rainier School, and Washington State — this will be no longer, and only Buckley employees would run the show.
Buckley residents may recall an attempt to close the Rainier School by 2027. However, in April of this year, an agreement was struck that would allow the facility to continue operating as a habilitation center for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities for the foreseeable future.
But part of that agreement was that Buckley look at how feasible that option is, according to Mayor Beau Burkett, and then possibly take ownership.
“This can been a long time coming,” he said at the meeting.
How this may affect the state facility or Buckley residents remains unclear.
City Administrator Courtney Brunell said the city is hoping to receive some compensation from the state to take ownership of the entire water system, but that amount is unknown at this time.
It’s also unknown how consolidation could affect current customers’ bills, if it does at all, she added.
NOT ABOUT HOUSING
A Facebook post sharing screenshots from the Aug. 26 city council agenda alleged that the city is looking to take control of the water system to address water capacity issues.
“This is whhyyyyyyy [sic] you’ve gotta stop building houses in Buckley,” the post reads. “100000% certain our water treatment plant is over capacity so the grand plan is to steal the rainier schools eh? How about we stop letting developers build in Buckley.”
Elected officials addressed this allegation at the meeting.
“I saw a lot of discussions on Facebook… but we’re not running out of water,” Council member Mackenzie Anderson said.
“Capacity is definitely not an issue,” Mayor Burkett said. “… As for Facebook, better to remain silent and be thought to be a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
