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The Portland City Council is scheduled to decide Wednesday on whether to demolish a historic building and portions of the reservoirs in Washington Park.

Council deliberations on the topic start at 2 p.m. in City Hall, 1221 S.W. 4^th Ave. At the meeting, city commissioners will decide whether to grant a Portland Water Bureau land use application for a $76 million project to build a new underground reservoir in place of the park’s existing open-air reservoirs.

With the land use application, Water Bureau officials are seeking the City Council’s OK to demolish the historic Weir Building and remove portions of two existing reservoir basins to make way for the proposed Washington Park Reservoir Improvements Project. Wednesday’s council meeting follows two public hearings held in March and April to gather feedback on the project and the demolition plans.

The proposed project would create a fountain consisting of a series of tiered pools and a nature area atop a planned 15-million-gallon underground drinking water reservoir in the footprint of one of the existing reservoirs. Washington Park’s other reservoir would be decommissioned and a lowland habitat area and reflecting pool would replace it.

Officials announced last year that they planned to proceed with the project after receiving a mandate from the Oregon Health Authority to follow a federal regulation that outlaws the use of uncovered reservoirs to store finished drinking water. The rule is intended to reduce the risk of exposure to contaminants.

Hoffman Construction crews are scheduled to start work on the project on July 1, 2016, and wrap up in late 2020.