An attractive addition to the city’s Downtown riverfront was unveiled in April. The new Sunrise Pump Station, a $60 million portion of the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility’s $729 million Renew Evansville project, was designed for treated water to return to the Ohio River, but with a little flair.
The new station will help prevent stagnant water and sewage from building up in the concrete ditch alongside the Veterans Memorial Parkway. New pipes move treated water from the East Wastewater Treatment Plant to Sunrise Pump Station, where the final cleaned effluent is pumped over the levee to the top of the cascade and into the Ohio River.
When discussing the project at community input sessions back in 2017, residents pondered how to let the station perform its function while beautifying the riverfront. Thus, the approximately 11-to-12-acre space was constructed with people in mind, with outdoor and indoor relaxation spaces.
Swinging chairs and an observation deck circle a waterfall cascade where treated water exits the station, offering an unobstructed view of the northern riverfront esplanade. The entrance includes space for seating and the potential for a spray park on a hot summer day. A rooftop lookout gives an enhanced, birds-eye view of the area and the Downtown Evansville riverfront.
Inside, viewers can witness the water testing process and the pipes delivering water from the treatment plant and through the station. Lane Young, the utility’s executive director, hopes the space can host events for education and the community.
“This public space on the riverfront will draw people in, and once inside people will be able to see our lab at work,” Young says. “We’re excited to open up.”
A Cleaner Future
ewsu.com
