PORTLAND, Ore. — After more than two years of prep work, construction is now underway on the new underground drinking water reservoir in Portland’s Washington Park.
When completed, it will hold 12.4 million gallons of water.
The challenge is to make the reservoir strong enough to withstand a major earthquake. Crews have spent the last two years digging a 90-foot hole for the reservoir. The next step is to fill it with about 3,000 truckloads of concrete.
“We have 30,000 yards of concrete to pour over the next two years,” said operations manager Cary Bubenik,
Once the underground reservoir is complete, the city will build a new park attraction with reflecting pools that will be open to the public.
The whole project is expected to wrap up in 2023.