One-Lane Traffic Planned for Highway 129/Riverside Dr.

The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PV Water) is developing College Lake as a new water supply for the Pajaro Valley, and upcoming construction will create one-lane traffic on Riverside Drive around Union Street in Watsonville.

This project will use the lake water to reduce groundwater pumping, helping to reduce groundwater overdraft and seawater intrusion, while improving habitat for the endangered South-central California coast steelhead.

There are two project components to the project: the Water Treatment Plant and Intake Facilities, and the Pipeline.

A 6-mile, 30-inch water pipeline is being constructed to transport treated lake water from the new water treatment plant to over 5,500 acres of farmland via PV Water’s Coastal Distribution System.

Pipeline construction begins Monday, Jan. 8, on Highway 129-Riverside Drive and is expected to continue through June. Construction will take place from  9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. Construction will not occur on weekends.

• One-lane traffic control will occur on Highway 129-Riverside Drive west of Union St.
• Streetside parking will be unavailable on Highway 129-Riverside Drive east of Union St.
• Construction will be taking place on the east bound lane.

Construction updates are posted at www.pvwater.org/construction and on social media (Facebook, Instagram).

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Groundwater accounts for more than 90% of water use in the Pajaro Valley Basin. Throughout the Pajaro Valley Groundwater Basin, groundwater levels are overdrafted, meaning there is unsustainable pumping of the groundwater aquifer, which leads to groundwater below sea level. Overdraft conditions result in seawater intrusion, groundwater quality degradation and groundwater storage depletion.

PV Water’s College Lake Project will provide the largest new source of water in the Pajaro Valley since the completion of the Watsonville Area Water Recycling Facility in 2009, a facility that is jointly operated by PV Water and the City of Watsonville.

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The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PV Water) is a state-chartered water management district, and a Groundwater Sustainability Agency, formed to efficiently and economically manage existing and supplemental water supplies in order to prevent further increase in, and to accomplish continuing reduction of, long-term overdraft.

PV Water works to provide and ensure sufficient water supplies for present and future anticipated needs within its boundaries, generally the greater coastal Pajaro Valley.

For more information, visit www.pvwater.org or www.facebook.com/PajaroValleyWater.