Water pressure rising in Rancho Calaveras
Published:
By KATY
The Union Democrat
A new 120-foot-tall water tank now rising near Valley Springs will
increase pressure for at least 64 Calaveras County Water District customers in
Rancho Calaveras.
Many of these customers have dealt with low water pressure and
have used booster pumps since a 2004 fire wiped out their other tank, built
from redwood.
The new 200,000-gallon steel tank will increase customers' water
pressure an average of 35 pounds per square inch — a noticeable difference.
Homeowner Oscar Rodriguez, for instance, was told his water pressure would jump
from 44 psi to between 80 and 90 psi.
"It'll be great," he said. "The shower, everything
will be better."
Rodriguez waters his trees and shrubbery with sprinklers and drip
irrigation tubing. Better water pressure will enable him to hook up more
sprinklers to one circuit and he won't have to leave the water running as long,
he said.
Sylvia Pica, also a Rancho Calaveras resident, said she and her
family are looking forward to the new tank — not just for faster-flowing
faucets, but for peace of mind.
"We are really, really happy, especially with summer coming
and not a lot of rain," she said. "It might be a big fire
season."
The new tank is expected to be on line in July.
The Pattison Fire, which burned 2,676
acres along Highways 12 and 26 in September 2004, destroyed at least 20 homes
and caused about 3,000 people to evacuate. It also burned up the old redwood
water tank at the top of the hill, from which Camanche
Reservoir is visible.
CCWD built a 150,000-gallon temporary tank within about 6 weeks of
the fire, said Fred Burnett, district operations supervisor. Residents now rely
on that tank, plus another wooden tank at the bottom of the hill that will be
shut down when the new tank is operational.
The storage capacity will be about the same, but water pressure
will improve because of the new tank's higher elevation, said Randy Scheidt, CCWD work group leader. For every 2.31 feet in
elevation, water pressure goes up by 1 psi.
Work on the site for the new tank started at the end of 2006, with
the pouring of the concrete base, said Kathy Yerger
of Forsgren Associates, the project's managers. Metal
panels were hauled to the site and welded together starting in March, and now
the finished halves are being assembled by crane.
The inside of the tank still must be coated with a protective
layer to keep the metal from corroding, and electrical lines have to be hooked
up before it can be filled, Yerger said.
The tower will be painted light blue with the words "Welcome
to Valley Springs" on the side.
About 75 percent of the funding for the new tower came from the
state Office of Emergency Services, said CCWD Utilities Director Bill Perley.
While the tank's capacity is 200,000 gallons, CCWD will only be
using 150,000 gallons right now. The rest will be for anticipated future
growth.
"A lot of houses didn't get rebuilt after the fire,"
Perley said.
Contact Katy Brandenburg at kbrandenburg
@uniondemocrat.com or 736-0916.