2026-2028 Rehabilitate Paradise Waste Water Collections System and Plant

The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing to rehabilitate and reconstruct the Paradise wastewater collection system and waste water treatment plant (WWTP) at Mount Rainier National Park to support sustainable visitor services and accommodate growth in park visitation. Visitation to Mount Rainier National Park has increased by approximately 40% in the last 10 years, and there is a need to be able to manage resources to meet that growth. Investing in visitor service and facility upgrades will help meet current wastewater treatment standards while minimizing potential impacts to natural and cultural resources, including the preservation of the local environment and minimization of partial Paradise area closures.

If approved, project construction would be anticipated to start in 2027, and the duration of construction is anticipated to be four years. Due to the extreme snowfall at Paradise, construction can only take place during the snow-free summer months. Throughout planning and design, the NPS would seek to minimize impacts to visitors. With construction projects such as this, short-term impacts to visitor experience may result from increased traffic or traffic delays, as well as decreased parking availability. These impacts would be minimized to the extent practicable, temporary, and cease after construction completion. As more detailed design information becomes available on construction methods and sequencing, as well as potential staging areas (which would be located on existing paved surfaces), additional information will be provided through news releases to the public.