Reservoir Will Ease Water Problems In/Around: Indian Trail

Help is on the way for Indian Trail residents suffering through hot summers with poor water pressure.

A new 4.7 million-gallon water reservoir soon will grace the western slope of Five Mile Prairie, easing - but not eliminating - water problems in the fast-growing North Side neighborhood.

The Spokane City Council earlier this week agreed to pay developer Leif Sorenson $95,000 for the reservoir site - a 1.7-acre property on Strong Road just east of Indian Trail Road.

“This will help a lot for areas troubled by low water pressure,” said John Bjork, director of Water Services. “It will help to stabilize the pressure.”

Indian Trail residents for years have complained that low water pressure - especially in summer months - keeps them from taking decent showers, doing laundry and watering their lawns.

While the city tries to keep customers’ water pressure between 50 and 80 pounds, some residents’ pressure has on occasion fallen below 30.

“We get levels higher and lower than that because of elevations,” Bjork said. “Some (residents) will still have low pressure - lower than we would like.”

Indian Trail customers suffering with the worst water pressure live along the western rim of Five Mile Prairie.

To completely eliminate their problems, a new reservoir would need to be built above those homes up on the prairie, Bjork said. To make that affordable, more development would be necessary.

For now, residents can count on the new tank giving them better service, Bjork said.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $2 million, but “hopefully it will be less than that,” Bjork said. It should be operating by mid-July.