25 JULY 2023 WorldWide Drilling Resource® New Water Source for McNeil Island Adapted from Information by Washington State Department of Corrections The McNeil Island facility in Washington was a federal prison when it opened in the 1870s. A couple of its well-known inmates were Robert “Birdman of Alcatraz” Stroud from 1909 to1912 for manslaughter and Charles Manson from 1961 to 1966 for federal check forgery. In 1976, due to high operational and maintenance costs and needed renovations, the Federal Bureau of Prisons declared the facility obsolete and began shutting it down. Washington State’s need for additional space prompted officials to explore purchasing the island to house their prisoners. So in 1981, the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) began moving inmates into the newly named McNeil Island Correction Center. In 1984, the seven-square-mile island was officially deeded to the state of Washington. During the 1990s, extensive demolition and reconstruction was done for more housing, a hospital, education center, recreation room, hobby shop, music room, and gymnasium. In April 2011, this oldest prison facility in the Northwest and final island-based prison in the nation was officially closed after 136 years. Today, the grounds are used for the states’ Special Commitment Center, a total confinement facility where chronic and violent sex offenders can be civilly committed per a court’s determination and after the end of their prison sentence. The DOC’s Special Emergency Response Team also uses the island for training exercises. Now, after seven years of planning, drilling, and testing, McNeil Island has a new water source. Recently, staff from the DOC, Department of Health (DOH), Department of Social and Health Services, and KPFF Consulting Engineers gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new well pump and treatment site. The previous potable water system supplying the island came from Butterworth Reservoir, a man-made lake held back by a dam built in the 1940s. The setup required manually turning the treatment system on and off daily to produce clean water. When the Department of Ecology determined the dam was possibly unstable, work began to plan a new water system for the island. An evaluation was conducted and the decision was made to drill a well for the new groundwater source. Drilling began in January 2018. The well was drilled to 740 feet and pump tests and water quality tests were conducted. It was determined there was enough capacity to support a new system, so design and approvals were obtained through DOH to use the new groundwater source. A treatment system was also designed and approved by DOH to treat for secondary contaminants. “This is a public health operation that has come to fruition,” said Derek Pell, regional manager for drinking water at DOH. The new system is capable of 250 gallons per minute; the existing reservoir tank built in 2004 is still operational and, with its capacity of holding one million gallons, is adequate to run the entire island. Unlike the previous manually operated system, this system is fully automated and has a backup generator for the well pumps and treatment building, as well as the existing fire pump building. “This new system is leaps and bounds above what’s been on the island for 80 years,” said Clint Pierpoint of KPFF Consulting Engineers. “It should be a great resource for years to come.” WTR
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