LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Pipeline Work Inches Down Mt. Diablo Blvd.


A 30-inch pipe is currently being installed on. Mt. Diablo Boulevard. Photos courtesy EBMUD

Wondering what's up with the array of orange cones and the giant hole in the ground on the east end of Lafayette? It will be a shiny new water pumping plant, and water pipelines that will serve Lafayette, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek, replacing the existing Diablo Vista Pumping Plant near Ace Hardware that was built in 1956.

While traffic slowdowns are to be expected as EBMUD crews install 30-inch in diameter water lines, residents will ultimately appreciate having a reliable clean water source that is engineered to withstand earthquakes and has the capacity to deliver 16 million gallons of water per day.

The cone conga line will be inching down Mt. Diablo Boulevard through early October, and will shift in the coming weeks as lateral pipelines are installed going across the boulevard to connect with the pumping plant. Construction on the project is slated to be complete in September 2017.

- C. Tyson