Everett approves $113 million for pipeline project

Published 11:10 am Friday, April 3, 2026

EVERETT — The Everett City Council voted Wednesday to allocate $113 million toward the construction of new water, stormwater and sewer pipes along West Marine View Drive needed for a massive stormwater facility.

The new pipelines will carry excess stormwater to the Port Gardner Storage Facility, a $133 million facility that will temporarily store the water until it can be treated.

The state ordered the city to reduce combined sewer overflows, which occur when heavy rains strain the city’s sewer system and send wastewater into the Snohomish River or Port Gardner Bay. That happens because some of the sewer system at the north end of Everett uses the same pipes for rainwater, sewage and wastewater, meaning overflows can contain harmful bacteria.

The city expects to complete the Port Gardner Storage Facility by the end of 2027, meeting a state deadline. Engineers expect that the facility, which will be able to store about 7 million gallons of water will reduce combined sewer overflows by about 95%.

The pipeline project will stretch along West Marine View Drive, from the Grand Avenue Bridge in the north down to Hewitt Avenue in the south. Construction could begin as early as June and is expected to continue through until the end of 2027, wrote Kathleen Baxter, a spokesperson for the city’s public works department, in an email Thursday.

Construction will be split into two packages in an effort to reduce impacts on traffic. The first package, from 25th Street to Hewitt Avenue, will occur entirely within the right-of-way, Baxter wrote. That will require some lane reductions that will follow the work, she wrote. A temporary closure of Everett Avenue will be required at some point, but it will be relatively short in duration.

The second package, from the Grand Avenue Park Bridge to 25th Street, will have traffic and noise impacts, but Baxter said the road has ample traffic capacity to handle the impacts. Lane closures along that stretch of road are possible. Some in-road work will also be necessary, requiring the overnight closure of West Marine View Drive for a short time — though it will remain open during the day.

There will be no in-road construction between June and September in either 2026 or 2027, Baxter wrote.

Money for the pipeline project will come from the city’s water and sewer utility fund, money that can’t be used for general government purposes like parks or police. That fund largely gets its money from water and sewer fees, which will continue to increase until 2028 after the city council approved a rate hike last year because of the major construction projects needed to maintain the city’s water and sewer infrastructure.

Corrections: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Washington ordered the city to build the Port Gardner Storage Facility. The state ordered the city to reduce combined sewer overflows, and the Port Gardner Storage Facility is one of multiple projects the city is building to do so.

It stated that the north end of the city uses a combined sewer system. Only some of the north end of the city uses a combined sewer system.

It also said the Port Gardner Storage Facility cost over $200 million. The entire project, including the pipelines, costs over $200 million, but the Port Gardner Storage Facility site itself costs $133 million.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.