Rotting wood and cracked concrete has forced one of Mill Creek’s best-known landmarks to shut down.
The 9-foot-tall water mill at the corner of Mill Creek Boulevard and Bothell-Everett Highway ran for two decades before breaking down four months ago, said Suzanne Koval, property manager for The Mill at Mill Creek apartment complex, the water wheel’s home.
“Being 20 years old and having water on it constantly, plus the wet weather we have here, the wood has rotted, and it wasn’t turning properly,” she said.
The mill’s concrete-lined pond also has cracked, causing water to seep into the ground instead of being used for the water wheel.
“When the wheel doesn’t have much water in it, it goes really fast,” Koval said.
The apartment complex, which houses about 1,100 people, has repaired the wheel and its frame, supports, bearings and the pump throughout the years, Koval said.
But the wood has rotted so much that the wheel and its support system and axle must be rebuilt to turn again, she said. The cost is estimated at $45,000.
It’s worth it, Koval said.
“It was put here when they first built the city, and it’s such a large monument, everyone knows it,” she said. “It’s a community icon.”
Local art students filmed the wheel two years in a row for class projects, she said.
The wheel also was a favorite target of pranksters, who added soap to the water.
Koval has raised $150 toward replacing the wheel, and is hoping to receive more contributions from the community.
Katherine Schiffner writes for the Herald in Everett.
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