Palouse considers future of wind damaged reservoir

The possible replacement of a brick reservoir in Palouse built in 1910 is being discussed after it was damaged from wind storms in November and December.

The steel-lined structure off I Street on the north end of town has a capacity of 150,000 gallons. It sits next to a newer half-million gallon concrete reservoir.

The old reservoir was taken offline in December due to wind damage to its wood-shingle roof.

“We don’t need it, from a capacity standpoint,” said Palouse Mayor Michael Echanove, “but from a redundancy standpoint, maybe we should think about it.”

Aside from a potential short-term emergency, City Clerk-Treasurer Mike Bagott said the reservoir will remain offline as plans form to replace it.

In 2012, the city hired Taylor Engineering to review its water systems.

Part of their findings regarded the old reservoir, for which Bagott indicated the city will move on in the coming months.

“In the next year, it’s pretty likely that we will hire an engineer to start preliminary investigation for a design to replace it,” Bagott said.