The city of Snohomish is home to one of the most beautiful and elaborate wastewater lift pump stations in the nation. In fact, the lift station on First Avenue near the city of Snohomish public works has been submitted for an award.

The 6 1/2 million dollar wastewater separation project is largely paid for by grant money and is being spent on more than just wastewater separation. As part of the project Snohomish is putting in new sidewalks and trails that lead around under Highway 9 to the sewage treatment plant.

The park that has been constructed next to the lift station has hundreds of new plants and native growth planted along the trail that leads visitors to the sewage treatment plant as an attraction.

The pump station or lift station is a very elaborate home for the electronics that run the pumps. The building that has three doors that face east all open to the same room. Looking closer at the design work you will find the city of Snohomish logo cut into the brown metal that surrounds the lamps. The beautiful black iron rod fence that surrounds the actual pumping tubes and generator gives the building a stately appearance.

The exceptional metal artwork that adorns the sides of the building is accented by the custom brickwork. The artwork is an assortment of native fish swimming and jumping along the edge of the building. The drain spout resembles a winding river and splashes out into rocks and along a custom grate until it finds its way into a small retention pond.

This project is only one step in the storm water and wastewater separation project that is underway as part of greater sewage treatment plan. The new pavement, new center Island, new sidewalks, new trees and new pathways were all paid for in the lift station wastewater package.

The city of Snohomish is lucky to have such an elaborate and beautiful pumping station, it even has a bike rack and a bench for those that wish to congregate around this new facility and admire artwork.

This multimillion dollar project shows what can be done with a bit of ingenuity and design creativity. A simple generic pump lift station would not have been as attractive and would not have added to the cities appeal.

Click on the photo to above and see the images of this remarkable public utility building and the artwork that is attached to it.

The city of Snohomish continues to work on fixing its sewage problem. Currently city is working on establishing a bacteria hotel inside the sewage treatment plant that will cut down on the amount of untreated sewage that spills into the Snohomish River. During a five-year period Snohomish has received over hundred and 15 validations from the Department of ecology.

Ultimately the city plans to connect its sewer pipeline to Everett costing over $50 million dollars. Some grant money has been secured but the bulk of the ticket will be paid for by residents unless more funding he found.

Architecture Award Consideration - http://www.wallpaper.com/architecture