McAllister Wellfield

The City of Olympia is committed to providing safe and reliable drinking water to its customers — now and well into the future.  In order to meet this commitment, the City is actively pursuing the development of a new water source that will replace McAllister Springs as the City’s primary supply of drinking water.  The new water source, named the McAllister Wellfield, will be significantly more protected, more productive, and will meet water supply needs for generations to come.

The City has relied on McAllister Springs for more than 60 years.   Located at the headwaters of McAllister Creek, McAllister Springs, while continually providing high-quality water, is vulnerable to potential contamination, and will require extensive treatment if it is not retired within the next few years.

The City began working on its plan to address this situation in the 1990s and, after extensive research, identified and purchased the McAllister Wellfield site which is located a little less than a mile southeast of the springs.  Studies of the site showed that the wellfield site taps a large sustainable aquifer with high quality water.  With the purchase of the site, as well as 100 acres of adjacent development rights, the City began the long-term process of developing the wellfield into its primary source of drinking water.

A Historic Partnership

Water is a vital, shared resource. And through years of research and development, the City has been working closely with other agencies and municipalities to manage future projects. Through these efforts, the City and the Nisqually Indian Tribe, located northwest of the wellfield site, were able to identify not only a shared need but, more importantly, a shared solution.

The Nisqually Indian Tribe currently relies on shallow, low-producing wells next to the Nisqually River, and for years has been working to identify and secure a long-term, sustainable water source for its growing community.   The City and the Tribe worked together to find a joint solution that would benefit both communities.

In May 2008, they entered into a historic agreement - the first such agreement between a tribe and a municipality in the country — to jointly develop a new regional water source at McAllister Wellfield.  Once the project is complete and operational, the wellfield will provide a secure supply of water for both communities for generations to come. 

Environmental Benefits

The agreement between the City and the Tribe also has significant environmental benefits.  It calls for both the permanent protection of McAllister Springs and nearby Abbott Springs, as well as the creation of a Nisqually Watershed Stewardship Coalition.   The new coalition would work specifically to advance water conservation, aquifer protection, and the monitoring of mitigation and stewardship projects in the Nisqually Watershed. 

The Nisqually Watershed is one of our state’s most functionally intact watersheds and one of the most pristine river basins in Puget Sound.  Ultimately, this new coalition would be a regional group including water purveyors and organizations throughout the region. 

Retire McAllister Springs:

One of the other benefits of this project is that it will allow McAllister Springs to be retired as a water source.  This will result in higher flows in McAllister Creek —a real benefit to a currently impaired stream.

Transfer of Water Rights

For the City and the Tribe to move forward with the development of the McAllister Wellfield, the Washington State Department of Ecology must approve the transfer of water rights to the new wellfield.  Over the past few years, the City has worked closely with the Department of Ecology to gather historical data and refine a computer model that effectively predicts the potential impacts pumping might have on water bodies throughout the region. 

As part of this effort, the City and Tribe are jointly developing a mitigation plan that identifies the results of extensive studies, as well as mitigation actions, that the City and Tribe would take to address any predicted impacts of pumping at McAllister Wellfield.  These mitigation actions may include activities such as riparian habitat restoration, recharging groundwater with reclaimed water, and acquiring water rights.  Both the City and the Tribe, along with other regional partners, are committed to sustainability and resource stewardship that will benefit the entire region for many years to come. To learn more, download a printer-friendly PDF version of the mitigation plan. Appendices will be provided on CD-Rom; please contact us if interested.  

 

Lake St. Clair Community Meeting - July 2009

On July 22, 2009, the City of Olympia hosted a community meeting for the Lake St. Clair neighborhood. City staff gave a presentation about the project and its predicted impact on Lake St. Clair.      

For More Information:

  • To sign-up for email updates email Public Works at publicworks@ci.olympia.wa.us and ask to be put on the McAllister Wellfield Project mailing list.
  • For more information about this project contact Donna Buxton at 360.753.8793