Heavy Rainfall Solves Supply Problem, Causes Others Issues

Santa Cruz Water Department reports rainfall to date at 23.6 inches, 182% of normal

Heavy rainfall will likely guarantee a healthy supply during the coming summer, but recent storms have also created a variety of near-term water supply problems. The City of Santa Cruz Water Department is responding to a series of storm-related impacts to its water supply infrastructure, while also taking precautionary measures to try to prevent future impacts.

On January 9, storm-related erosion in Henry Cowell State Park caused the water main from the City’s water reservoir to break, resulting in a serious temporary water shortage to all Santa Cruz water customers. On January 21, a storm-related landslide caused another main to break, which left the community of Paradise Park without water for twenty-four hours. On January 23 storms damaged the Liddell Springs pipeline, causing the main to be taken out of service.

“Much of the Water Department’s capital improvement program is focused on rehabilitating and replacing vulnerable parts of the system,” said Rosemary Menard, Water Director, “Our system is old and needs more reliable resiliency.” The Santa Cruz water delivery system is comprised of three hundred miles of pipes and less than one percent of the system is above ground and visible.

In the wake of recent powerful storms and with the prediction for a wet spring, the Water Department is taking several steps to prevent or lessen storms impacts on the water delivery system. Specifically:

• Conducting daily inspections of key pipeline rights of way to monitor for potential slides that could damage pipelines.
• Repairing storm-effected areas of road and culverts near key pipelines to prevent erosion or landslides from impacting pipes.
• Clearing storm debris from water supply intakes to ensure continued flows.
• Repairing a culvert to prevent flooding and erosion under a section of Newell Creek pipeline in the Brackney slide area, which is prone to landslides.
• Maintaining all back-up power sources to ensure their reliability.

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The Santa Cruz Water Department serves water to 96,000 customers, processes 6-8 million gallons of water per day, manages 4,000 acres of watershed lands, oversees 300 miles of distribution lines and runs a state-certified water quality laboratory.