Submitted by LOTT Clean Water Alliance
The new East Bay Public Plaza serves as the heart of the East Bay district, offering a vibrant, inviting, open public space. The plaza – a joint effort of the East Bay partners the City of Olympia, Port of Olympia, Hands On Children’s Museum, and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance – highlights the partners’ shared educational focus on the importance of water.
The most striking feature of the plaza is the stream-like water feature, which is truly unique. It is the first and only recreational water feature in the state that uses reclaimed water. LOTT produces high-quality Class A reclaimed water from the water we use and discard every day. It is the highest quality of reclaimed water, meeting stringent water quality standards and permit requirements from the state Departments of Ecology and Health.
Recycling Water is Nature’s Way
It’s strange to think that the water we use every day is the same water the dinosaurs drank. Water never disappears, and we use the same limited amount of fresh water on this planet over and over again. It is constantly being recycled by nature as it moves from sky to Earth, and back again.
Today we can use technologies that mimic nature’s recycling process. Reclaiming water, sometimes called water recycling, involves a highly engineered, multi-step system that speeds up nature’s treatment and filtering processes. This practice also involves multiple disinfection processes.
Although it is fairly new here in the Pacific Northwest, reclaimed water has been used across the world for decades. It allows communities to stretch their water supplies and match the type of water they use to actual needs. Recycling, or reclaiming, water preserves our water resources – our drinking water supplies. The less we use now, the more we will have in the future. The reclaimed water is continually monitored and tested to ensure that it meets strict quality standards. Only water that meets those strict standards can be put to use.
Local Reclaimed Water Use
Reclaimed water is currently being used locally in many places. It is ideal for irrigation, toilet flushing, and other uses where drinking water quality is not necessary. 
Local uses include:
- Irrigation at the state’s Heritage and Marathon Parks around Capitol Lake.
- Irrigation at downtown Olympia parks, including Percival Landing.
- Irrigation, dust suppression, and boat washing at the Port of Olympia.
- Toilet flushing, irrigation, and outdoor water features at LOTT and the East Bay Public Plaza.
- Toilet flushing and irrigation at the new Hands On Children’s Museum.
Explore the Public Plaza
While the wading stream is the star of the plaza, there are many other interesting features to be discovered there. Look for the “waterlines”, quotes about water that are embedded into the pavement, that inspire thought about the importance of water to all of us. Bronze sculptures of local wildlife dot the stream and adjacent wetland. Additional bronze sculptures speak to the history of the area and our dependence on water for our local economy. The steel gateway near the intersection of Marine Drive and Olympia Avenue reflects abstract images of the water cycle, while the tile mosaic near the intersection of Jefferson Street and Thurston Avenue highlights our local communities and their ties to water. Just west across Jefferson Street, you can find a demonstration wetland habitat. This wetland is also fed by reclaimed water and supports many local plant and insect species.
Overall, the plaza is a wonderful community gathering space that encourages a sense of discovery and appreciation for our precious water resources. Everyone is encouraged to visit and explore the plaza for themselves.
