NORDLAND — Four years after water-challenged Marrowstone Island residents petitioned Jefferson County Public Utility District for water service, the first phase in a $4.3 million water system project is under way.
Workers with C&J Excavating of Carlsborg on Wednesday had laid nearly 300 of 3,000 feet of pipeline that will lead from a district-built water storage tower at Fort Flagler State Park to the intersection of Fort Gate and Reef roads.
The first phase is costing the district $120,000, said General Manager Jim Parker.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Parker said. “We’re finally moving forward.”
The project has experienced years of delays, including an unsuccessful legal challenge to stop the project by Conserve Water First.
Parker estimates such delays, in addition to rising pipeline and construction costs, are driving the price up from the original estimate of between $2 and $3 million.
The first phase runs down an access road for about 1,000 feet, then cuts south to Fort Gate Road, where it will then run to Fort Gate’s intersection with Reef Road.
The water project will bring water to about 300 homes, said Parker.
