PSU Architecture Students Want to Turn Mount Tabor Reservoirs Into Iceland-Style Thermal Baths

Whoa.

(Christine Dong)

If we can't drink the water, swim or pee in the Mount Tabor reservoirs, what are they really doing for us?

Now, in an article for the Southeast Examiner, PSU architecture student Amy Peterson offers a new idea for what the reservoirs could be used for: a small geo-thermal power plant, complete with thermal baths.

Here's a design for what that could look like:

(designed by Jennifer Moran)

The power plant would produce both power and large amounts of hot water and steam, which would be used to fill and heat the reservoirs, creating thermal baths.

Peterson says the baths would generate low-cost energy, keep the reservoirs filled and generate revenue for the park and city.

She says the students were inspired by similar thermal bathing facilities in Iceland's Blue Lagoon, the oft-Instagrammed giant blue soaking pool, and the Sutro Baths in San Francisco.

No formal proposal has been made, and Peterson says there's still a lot of leg work to be done, like examining geothermal viability, costs and revenue. But one day, in a hypothetical universe where this all works out, you could head up to Mount Tabor and actually get in that water.

It would sure beat some of the proposals Portland Parks Bureau received when they asked for public comment on what to do with the reservoirs in 2014.

These ideas included an "'elaborate fountain' for kids and birds," a children's boat pond, and a roller derby rink.

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