The San Lorenzo Valley Water District, hard hit by the CZU Lightning Complex fire, reports progress in replacing three undersized and leaking redwood tanks in Lompico and 3.3 miles of old pipeline deemed undersized and inefficient for fire flow in Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek.
A trench built on Hillside Drive for new pipeline will increase the capacity for fire flow.
The Lompico Tanks Project involves three tanks — Madrone, Lewis, and Kaski — that provide the main water storage and service for Lompico and nearby areas.
The Madrone tank site was completed in November and is now in use. The Lewis tank site has completed construction and is completing water quality sampling before being brought online for use. At the Kaski site, the old tanks are being removed and site grading is scheduled in early December.
The tank replacement project was funded through a $2.75 million assessment district as part of the Lompico consolidation with the San Lorenzo Valley Water District.
The 5-Pipeline Replacement Project is designed to increase the capacity for fire flow and improve water quality in the areas of Boulder Creek (Big Basin Highway-236, Sequoia Ave., and Hillside Dr.) and Ben Lomond (California Dr. and Quail Hollow Rd.).
The pipelines on Hillside Drive and Reynolds Drive have been constructed. The final steps of installing service laterals, fire hydrants and air relief valves has begun and should be completed mid-December.
New Lewis tanks in Lompico will be in use following water quality sampling.
On California Drive, the saw cutting of the trench line and potholing of existing services are complete. Construction and installation of the mainline pipeline is in progress and expected to be competed in January.
The pipeline on Quail Hollow Road required additional environmental permitting. The draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration will open for public review in early December with construction slated for spring 2021.
The San Lorenzo Valley Water District has 190 miles of pipeline serving 7,900 connections from Boulder Creek to Scotts Valley.
The five-member board has a vacancy after Steve Swan, who works for Cisco, sold his Ben Lomond home on Sept. 29, gave notice of his intent to resign on Oct. 15, and moved to Austin, Texas. Applications must be received by District Secretary Holly Hossack at hhossack@slvwd.com by 3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 9. The seat will go to election in 2022.
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For information, call (831) 338-2153, or go to www.slvwd.com.
Photos courtesy San Lorenzo Valley Water District