Here is part script of a video titled My Home Town “Pacific – November 2005 Show”

sponsored by Comcast South Sound West

Art Hollingsworth  (1905 – 2006)

I was 23 years on the Town Council and two terms on the Pacific School Board.  One time we were going to raise a bond to replace all the old wooden pipe with wire around it.  So I called up friend, George Kenny, and told him we should try water witching to see if we could find some water.  We were using a willow stick and all at once the stick turned down at one certain spot.  Then we started checking .  We marked the spot with a stick. We then walked back and forth, back and forth, until we marked a spot heading northeast that was about 12 to 14 feet wide.  Where we marked it there was a strong turning of the willow stick. We figured that it must be near the surface, not more than 12 to 14 feet deep. 

So we got in a back hoe.  The operator was digging and digging and piling the dirt out of the hole.  And finally low and behold he hit a hard pan.  If anyone had said there was a hard pan in this valley I would have said “no”.  I did not think there would ever be a hard pan.  So anyway he got down to this hard pan and he raised the bucket up, clear up to the top of its 40 foot boom. And he let it drop. The bucket was 3 or 4 tons and it went boom.  He raised it up again and it went boom.  He then raised the bucket up again a third time and it went boom and he broke the hard pan. And here came the water and it just filled up that hole.

Clint Steiger discussed the first public water supply in August 2017 at History meeting.   Here are his comments… 

The first water came from a spring on West Hill.  It was this spring that runs into the stream that crosses under the West Valley Highway at 3^rd Avenue SW.  The water runs all year long…  even during a dry summer.  The water at first was collected into a tank that was made of cedar staves with steel rings.  Later on another tank was added.  Together these two tanks held thousands of gallons of water.  Later the tanks began to rot away and then were replaced by a 100,000 gallon steel tank. This tank was up a short road at an elevation of about 200 feet over the valley floor.  200 feet of head equals 87 psi pressure.   Here is a June 2010 view of the old tank looking west…

 The rusty steel tank was replaced by a 750,000 gallon reservoir on the valley floor in 2007 and the steel tank on the hill was then removed in 2011.

The unnamed stream still runs under West Valley Highway as before.  Its source is better understood since a large spring just uphill from the tank area was discovered in 2014 while siting a cell phone tower on West Hill near 51^st Avenue South.

Mr. Steiger’s father, Chris, was the first Superintendent of the Pacific City water supply starting in 1953.  The City purchased the failing water district from Mr. Richards of the Inter-County Water Company  in 1953.  At that time the pipes that were made of wood were collapsing and were unreliable.  When the City took over, many wooden pipes needed to be replaced with asbestos-concrete pipes.  However there were not many customers in those days.  Further, the City completed extensive distribution improvements and constructed a pump house.  In 1959 a new standby pump was installed in an auxiliary pump house.  Also in 1959 The City agreed to provide water to the Webstone Water District which was just south of the City of Pacific in Pierce County.

 Water system improvements have continued over the years.

The service area has continued to expand further into Pierce County. In addition to the first two wells serving Pacific, a well on the east side of Pacific was completed in 1978.  In recent years chlorine and pH control have been necessary.  Water mains have increased from 6 inches to 12 inches in diameter.  Pumps are delivering 600 to 800 gallons per minute.  Over 30 miles of pipe are used in the system.

From Jim Morgan, City Engineer, May 15, 2018
 

The City of Pacific is a suburban community which straddles the northern border of Pierce County and the southern border of King County, Washington.  The City is home to a large commuter population that works at the commercial and industrial centers located southwest and north of the City.

A.   City of Pacific History

With the advent of the railroad, a huge migration of immigrants brought an economic boom.  People came to the valley to work on the farms and the growing factories.  Thus, the railroad was a key factor in the early growth of Pacific.  Construction began on the Interurban Railway running from Seattle to Tacoma.  The Railway opened in 1902 and ran from Georgetown in south Seattle to downtown Tacoma--passing through the White River Valley and the towns of Renton, Kent, Auburn, and Pacific.  The system was extremely successful.  However, by 1920, hard-surfaced roads were developed which helped auto, truck, and bus service.  The Interurban's last run was in 1928.

Another obstacle facing the early valley inhabitants was the yearly threat of flooding.  The White River flowed north through Auburn while the Stuck River flowed south and joined the Puyallup River at Sumner.  This annual flooding, along with the worry over losing their crops, plagued farmers in the valley.  To avoid flooding, farmers often directed water from the White River into the Stuck River by creating logjams.

In 1906 when the White River was diverted into the Stuck River, the flooding in Puyallup and Sumner was disastrous.  A concrete diversion dam built on the site of the more natural logjam in the White River was constructed in 1913.  However, the annual threat of floods did not disappear completely.  Two major floods in the 1930s threatened to overpower the dam and invade the valley.  The Mud Mountain Dam, completed in 1950, and the Howard Hanson Dam at Eagle Gorge in 1962, brought an end to the flooding that had threatened farmers for more than 100 years.

Clarence Dayton Hillman, an early land developer from California, founded Pacific City.  Pacific City was platted into two town lots and advertised as "an addition to Seattle."  Hillman and his wife, Bessie Olive, platted "Division No.1" on August 10, 1906.   Earlier that year H.T. Bredes and his wife, Ella M. platted "Division No. 2."  Pacific City was incorporated on August 10, 1909.

In the early days, the city was centered about the vicinity of Third Avenue and what is now known as the West Valley Highway.  Arnold's Hotel, Cook's Grocery, a barbershop, Luthburrow's Bakery, a blacksmith shop and livery barn, Cox's Store, later known as Waddell's Store were early business establishments.  A Baptist church, sawmill, roller-skating rink, grocery-feed store, and a saloon also were established in these early years.  In 1929, the year of the Great Depression, Pacific's population was estimated at 632.  Many of the early business had disappeared due to fire and the popularity of new modes of transportation which brought the demise of the railroad.  However, new businesses opened to replace those that had gone.

The installation of sewage systems throughout the valley by the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle hastened the conversion of the farmland to industrial uses in the 1970s.  Land became more valuable, with resulting increased taxes.  Farmers were unable to grow and sell enough crops to pay these assessments and found it hard to compete for the business of major supermarkets.  Most of the small businesses that once served Pacific are gone, as are most of the family farms in the immediate area.

B.   City of Pacific Water System History

The City’s water system was installed in 1931 by the Inter-County Water Company and purchased by the City of Pacific in 1953.  After its purchase, the City completed extensive distribution improvements and constructed a pump house.  In 1959, a new standby pump was installed in the auxiliary pump house, and the City agreed to provide water to the Webstone Water District located adjacent to the south of the City, in Pierce County.

The City’s groundwater supply at this time consisted of an underground collection system of piping, commonly referred to as “herringbone type.”  This system of piping collected flow and delivered it to two common collection wells.  Water was pumped to the system by three pumps housed in two pump houses with a combined capacity of approximately 400 gpm.

A schedule of water system improvements was established in 1965, which included the construction of the 100,000 gallon steel tank reservoir in 1966 that replaced the old wood stave tank.  From 1966 to 1970, several one to two-block loop connections were installed.

A Water Comprehensive Plan was prepared in 1974, with recommended improvement to the pumping facilities that were completed in 1975.  In 1974, City financed construction and developer extensions resulted in 32,000 feet of distribution main installation.  In 1978 the East Well (Well No. 2, S02) was drilled, and in 1989 the West Well (Well No. 3, S04) was drilled.  In 1988 Well No. 4 was drilled, but has not been developed because of high manganese concentrations and water right limitations.

C.   Water System Changes 1990’s - 2007

     The following changes to the City’s Water System have taken place over the last five years:

• Service area expanded in 2002 to include those connections previously served by the Webstone Water District and located within the Pacific city limits and a small area of unicorporated Pierce County between 8th Street East (north), SR167 (east), 16th Street East (south) and West Valley Highway (west).
• Drilling of the South Well (S06) in 2003, which was put into service in 2007
• Construction completed on 750,000 gallon concrete storage reservoir in 2007 to replace the old 100,000 gallon steel reservoir.  Funding for this project was provided by the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the City.
• Construction of a 3,500 gpm booster station with generator.
• Addition of generator at well field.
• Corrosion control treatment system for pH adjustment.
• Numerous housing developments consisting of approximately 100 new single family residence.
• Numerous water main extension and replacement projects.

D.  Recent Changes in the Water System

    The following changes to the City’s Water System, including previous CIP (Capital Improvement Program) elements, have taken place over the last seven years:

• S3 (Supply 3) - The Sumner intertie has been upgraded.
• S5 (Supply 5) - Rehabilitation of the East Well (Supply 2) in 2008 and West Well (Supply 4) in 2010.
• WQ1 (Water Quality 1) - Updates to the chlorine and pH monitoring system.
• ST1 (Supply Termination 1) - Demolition of old 100,000 gallon steel reservoir.
• D1 (Distribution 1) - Fire Hydrants – Some hydrants have been replaced and some storz fittings have been installed.
• D3 (complete), D4 and D5 (complete) - Replacement of 6” water line with 12” DIP (Ductile Iron Pipe) to serve Light Industrial area on Stewart Road and Valentine Avenue.
• D7 - Extension of 12” water main on West Valley to serve Light Industrial area.
• D13 - Replacement of 6” water line with 8” DIP on Seattle Boulevard S.
• Inspection of the 750,000 gallon reservoir.
• Numerous housing developments consisting of approximately 50 new single family residences.