EBMUD to Build Additional Water Storage at Reservoir
By Cathy Tyson
Map provided
For residents in the Colorados Pressure Zone, which includes parts of Lafayette, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek, water supply help is on the way - though it may take a while to actually arrive at your tap. The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) just announced that in order to increase water supply for this area, with the largest demand for water and lowest storage volume, they will be constructing a new storage tank at the Lafayette Reservoir; the Highland Reservoir Project. Pressure fluctuates during high demand periods in this pressure zone - an elevational band within which water pressure can be maintained by gravity. The new reservoir project will stabilize service pressure and increase water supply.
Expect construction on the project, which includes plans to partially bury a 2.7 million gallon storage tank, from spring 2010 to fall of 2011. The tank will be 130 feet in diameter, and, "Extensively planted with natives. This area is important to us and the bio-diversity needs to be protected," said Nora Harlow, EBMUD Community Affairs Representative. Hikers take note; the first activity on the project will be the re-routing of a section of the Rim Trail and the installation of a fence around the project site.
Next will be the construction of a temporary access road for equipment from Mt. Diablo Boulevard to the construction site, conveniently located on EBMUD property. The project also includes installing approximately 1,500 fee of 20-inch diameter inlet-outlet pipeline and 1,500 fee of 12-inch diameter storm drain pipe to serve the new reservoir, according to an EBMUD statement.
Near the park entrance, there will be construction along the north side of Mt. Diablo to connect pipe from the new Highland Reservoir project to the water treatment facility there. For more information, contact Nora Harlow at EBMUD (510) 287-0140 or via e-mail at nharlow@ebmud.com.
Expect construction on the project, which includes plans to partially bury a 2.7 million gallon storage tank, from spring 2010 to fall of 2011. The tank will be 130 feet in diameter, and, "Extensively planted with natives. This area is important to us and the bio-diversity needs to be protected," said Nora Harlow, EBMUD Community Affairs Representative. Hikers take note; the first activity on the project will be the re-routing of a section of the Rim Trail and the installation of a fence around the project site.
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA