ROYAL CITY — Cross one long, long project off the list. 

The last section of old water line in Royal City was replaced in 2024, wrapping up a project that Mayor Michael Christensen said took a while. 

“Over the years we’ve been trying to upgrade our water system, and now the entire city is upgraded,” Christensen said. “That was a long time coming and it was a bit of a task.” 

Steel water lines were replaced along Camelia Street Northwest about a decade ago, he said, and city officials have been working on the rest of town ever since. It wasn’t always easy. 

“As always is the case, you don’t necessarily know what you’re going to find when you start digging,” he said. 

Plans had to be changed, and decisions made on the fly, Christensen said. Royal City residents had to adapt to temporary water shutoffs and street closures. 

“The citizens were amazing,” Christensen said. 

The city paid for the water lines with a mix of outside funding and some of its own money, he said. 

With that project completed in 2024, city officials are moving on to other infrastructure challenges in 2025. Royal City is growing; among other things, platting has been completed for a new residential development. There’s no date for construction, Christensen said, but sooner or later the property will be developed. A separate project would build single-family houses with potential owners helping with some of the work.  

With that in mind, Royal City is applying for grants to drill a new well.  

“Our well capacity is not maxed out, but we’re at the high end,” Christensen said.  

Wastewater treatment facilities are administered by the Washington Department of Ecology, and DOH rules require cities to prepare to upgrade their facilities once they reach 80% of capacity. Royal City hasn’t hit that threshold yet, but it’s getting closer, Christensen said. With the planned development it’s something city officials will have to start working on “in the near future,” he said. 

Christensen said he’s not sure whether the growth in Royal City is due to more people or the availability of more housing. But additional housing is a crucial piece.  

“The need has always been there, but there hasn’t been somebody to go out and meet those needs,” he said. “There’s been a need that is now being met.” 

Work will begin on improvements to Lions Park in 2025. The city purchased property adjacent to the existing park in 2018 with the intention of expansion. The existing park borders Camelia Street Northwest, and the expansion will extend it to Acacia Street West. One-third of the undeveloped section was set aside for a soccer field, Christensen said. 

“We were actually approved for a grant about a year and a half ago,” he said.

City officials came up with a design and got the permits in 2024, with construction of the soccer field scheduled for 2025.  

“That’s the area we’re going to make sure we get done,” he said. 

City officials conducted a community survey to see what residents wanted added to the park, and they had suggestions. 

“There’s a wish list. A long list,” Christensen said. Among other things, residents were interested in a splash pad.  

Royal City doesn’t have the money to develop those projects right now, he said, but city officials hope to install water lines and plant grass in the entire space. 

City officials received a grant to start design and engineering for improvements to Apple Avenue Northwest. Finance Director Janice Flynn said in an earlier interview that construction on the first phase is scheduled for 2026. The first phase will cover about half the project.