This week, the 3Kings Water Treatment Plant in Thaynes Canyon began producing water for the municipal system, Park City officials said, a landmark moment for the Public Utilities Department and the wider community as an especially ambitious and expensive project is put into operation.
Construction on the facility, located along Three Kings Drive and close to the Park City Golf Club course, started in late 2019, just prior to the pandemic.
Starting Tuesday, according to the municipal government, the facility began producing 1.5 million gallons of water daily for the system. That total accounts for upward of 50% of the current water demand of Park City customers. The demand typically climbs sharply in the summer as Parkites water their lawns. The Public Utilities Department said the demand in July typically reaches the 8 million-gallon mark each day, a total that does not include untreated water provided to golf courses and to guarantee a minimum stream flow in McLeod Creek.
The production at the 3Kings Water Treatment Plant will increase on a proportional basis during the summer, the department said.
The facility’s approved maximum daily capacity is 7.2 million gallons. Testing of the functioning of the plant began in October. Officials had anticipated the plant could begin producing water for the municipal system in November. They instead continued the testing.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we waited to start producing drinking water for as long (as) possible to maximize the water quality testing period to ensure full compliance with drinking water standards, and to allow the contractor to complete all safety and security components of the project,” Clint McAffee, the public utilities director, said in a prepared response to a Park Record inquiry about the debut of the plant.
He said the delay was possible since the demand for water is low during the winter, adding the department ultimately “planned for a start-up before irrigation water demands increase around the first of June.”
McAffee said testing for the removal of contaminants through the treatment process at the facility has shown the plant is functioning well. The facility is designed to treat water for a range of contaminants like arsenic, antimony, iron, manganese, zinc, thallium, cadmium and lead. Chlorine and ultraviolet light are used to inactivate viruses and pathogens.
“The results of the testing have exceeded our expectations, and 3Kings is removing metals to concentrations well below both drinking water and stream water regulations, and in most cases to concentrations that are non-detectable with modern testing technology. The pathogen removal is also performing as designed,” he said.
The construction cost $80 million and was funded through water-user fees. The project capped a decade of progress on waterworks improvements. Park City historically drew large amounts of drinking water from underground sources dating to the silver mining era. There were issues with a range of contaminants in the water for decades as a result of the underground sourcing. Mayors and city councils over the years pursued improvements. The Public Utilities Department lists projects like upgrades to a treatment plant at Quinn’s Junction, the construction a treatment plant along Holiday Ranch Loop Road and the replacement of a tank close to Judge Tunnel south of Old Town.
The 3Kings Water Treatment Plant treats water that flows out of the Judge Tunnel, the Spiro Tunnel and Thiriot Springs. The plant is also designed to improve McLeod Creek water quality. The facility, meanwhile, will have the ability to distribute raw water from the Rockport Reservoir to McLeod Creek and the irrigation systems at the Park City Golf Club course and the course at the Park Meadows Country Club. Officials say that ability will assist in drought years.
More information about the project is available on the municipal website, www.parkcity.org. The direct link is: https://www.parkcity.org/departments/public-utilities/engineering-construction-division/water-projects/3kings-water-treatment-plant.