Newport Hospital Moves Forward With Water Resiliency Project November 1, 2024 When a massive earthquake hits the Pacific Northwest, Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital will be better prepared to continue providing medical care, thanks to a collaborative water resiliency project now underway. To help fund the work, the Pacific Communities Health District applied for a hazard mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Last month, the health district received notice of approval. An initial award of almost $950,000 will be used to fund the first phase of the project, which includes planning, engineering and other pre-construction activity. The water resiliency project includes construction of a 373,000-gallon, earthquake-resistant water tank to provide potable water to the hospital for at least four weeks in case the city’s water supply fails. The tank will be located on the east side of the hospital. Pipelines will connect it to new and existing city pipelines. When the stored water is not needed for emergency purposes at the hospital, it will be part of Newport’s municipal water supply, benefiting all citizens. “We have been working on this project for more than three years, so it was extremely gratifying to receive the initial grant payment,” said Aimee Thompson, president of the Pacific Communities Health District Board of Directors. “I am grateful for the professional assistance we received from many others so we can proceed with this important work.” The health district has been working with Samaritan Health Services, which operates the hospital; the city of Newport; Dig Deep Research, an expert water grants company based in Aurora, Colorado; and WSC, a water engineering and strategic communications firm with offices in California and Portland, Oregon. About the Project Jon Conner is director of Plant Engineering for Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital and is acting as the onsite water resiliency project manager. He explained that once the tank is built, it will be given to the city of Newport to maintain and use, through an intergovernmental agreement between the health district and the city. “Potable water will flow in and out of the tank through city waterlines. When heavy seismic activity is detected, a seismic valve on the tank outlet will automatically close, holding water in the tank for dedicated use by the hospital,” Conner said. “The water will be perfectly fine to use for all hospital and medical purposes. With careful conservation, it should provide adequate supply for at least four weeks.” Many emergency water supply options were evaluated, such as transportation of water to the hospital or desalination of bay water. The onsite water storage tank option was determined to be the most feasible in the event of a catastrophic earthquake and most cost effective over its lifecycle. Once the decision was made to proceed with a water storage tank, several locations were considered, with pros and cons to each, before deciding on using the southeast corner of the hospital’s back parking lot. Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2025 or early 2026 and could take between 12 to 18 months to complete. The North Lincoln Health District and Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City are in the initial research and planning stages of its own water resiliency project, to ensure that this hospital also has a four-week water supply to serve patients in case of disaster. Photo shows the approximate location and size of the water tank to be built in the hospital’s employee parking lot on the east side of the building.
