The lower pond at Talking Water Gardens was pretty dry again on Thursday evening.
The plan to supply Albany’s Talking Water Gardens with a pump from Cox Creek has hit a snag. I noticed this on a bike ride to the constructed wetlands on Thursday evening.
As I reported Monday, the city had just started the pumping, water was cascading down the main falls, and the lower and upper ponds had started to fill up.
But on Thursday, the main waterfall was silent and the lower pond was once again dry.
Kristin Preston, operations manager in Albany Public Works, explained:
“There is something wrong with either the pump or the piping as it’s not pumping as much as it should be, which is about 3 cubic feet per second (cfs). It started off good but it’s down to a trickle, so city staff and the contractor are trying to figure out what’s wrong and fix it. Once working, the plan is for it to run most of the day each weekday and just a few hours over the weekends.”
In June, the city contracted with Wind Rose Excavation, of Junction City, to install a pump with a fish screen in Cox Creek and 225 feet of underground pipe to connect with the Water Gardens. The company’s bid was $97,890.
The pumping was was launched to try to keep plantings in the wetlands alive during the dry season. Under a settlement with the state Department of Environmental Quality, the Water Gardens can’t be operated as intended, which is to hold treated wastewater before it is discharged to the Willamette River.
Under the city contract, the pumping was to continue until Oct. 29. Let’s hope the operation can get going again soon. (hh)
No water was falling down the main waterfall Thursday evening, Aug. 21, 2025.
This is part of the pumping system that is supposed to supply the wetlands from Cox Creek.
I’m sure some of the same geniuses in your comment section who thought it was perfectly plausible that the city would leave a pole in the roadway on Salem will be able to provide plenty of educated solutions.
Maybe it was more about the stupidity of paving around a pole and removing it later. This results in installing a patch against COLD asphalt before it has ever been put in service. The patch is simply going to have its own “cleavage planes” and result in a less homogenous structure.
Thanks for proving my point. I knew you wouldn’t let me down.
And just where did I say I thought it was perfectly plausible that the city would leave a pole in the roadway on Salem? That wouldn’t even make sense, which is to be expected from you.
Hasso, apologies if this has been addressed, but is it possible for the city to get a new permit from DEQ that allows the Talking Water Gardens to leak treated wastewater, and if so is anyone leading that effort?
Gee… I wonder if the city would hire a local pump company versus a smancy “contractor” if it would be fixed permanently and save our taxpayers a wad of dough???
My guess is they likely just need to clean the screen on the foot valve on the suction line. Most any farmer in the valley could and would take care of that one for a cup of coffee.
Let’s hope the operation can get going again soon. (hh)
Are you/City wanting to create a permanent wetland by spending taxpayer money?
Parched areas bloom when rains come and then they go dormant and the cycle continues.
Thank you for keeping inquiring minds up to date with all that is going on in Albany.
Do you know if there has been more effort into clearing out the bum camps on Simpson Trail??
Went there a Wednesday to get a walk and was joking about it being the Silent Mud Flats instead of the Talking Water Gardens. . . but the walking trails were still very nice, even without the water and I will happily go back, with or without flowing water.
Was the water stopped due to contaminated water being discharged into the river? Are the soils saturated with contaminants? If so, how does another water source solve the problem? No true professional approach from the beginning. The mill smells where much better than the sewage stew pot smells. Shut it down untill it can what it is suppose to.