After more than three years of construction, Coronado’s new Parker Pump Station is complete.
The $32 million project replaces a station originally built in 1983 and collects stormwater from about 150 acres of the city and pumps sanitary sewage from the Country Club area into the city’s main sewer line along Alameda Boulevard.
“The new plant is up and operational, and the city took possession about a month ago,” City Manager Tina Friend said during the Aug. 18 City Council meeting, adding that the station went through a rigorous testing cycle in which it ran continuously for days on a closed-loop water circulation system before the contractor released it to the city.
Though it’s perhaps not the most obviously exciting work of infrastructure, its impact is pronounced: In January 2024, excessive rainfall caused widespread flooding in Coronado, overwhelming the city’s stormwater system and causing a sewer line to burst.
That rain event delayed progress on the new pump station, which broke ground in 2023. Its completion is expected to better prepare Coronado for future rain events.
And the timing is opportune, with the city bracing for a potentially severe El Niño winter. Friend noted that residents can find tips and updates on the storm preparedness page of the Project Coronado website.
“We are just intrinsically vulnerable,” she said. “We are flat. We are at sea level. We are surrounded by water.”
With the new station operational, crews have decommissioned the old station next door, removing its mechanical equipment, electrical systems, and pumps. The remaining concrete shell was left intact underground and filled with slurry, Friend said, so that the site can be used when a future pump station is eventually built there.
The project’s final phase is above ground and not yet complete: grading, cleanup, and a new publicly accessible green space, where leashed dogs will be welcome. The city hopes to complete it in September or October.
