A crucial water supply pipeline in northern Santa Cruz County that was destroyed by the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire will be rebuilt, water district officials said last week.
Plans to reconstruct the Peavine Pipeline were approved by the San Lorenzo Valley Water District Board of Directors earlier this month.
The project is estimated to cost $2.1 million, with 90 percent of the cost expected to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The plans call for rebuilding about 1.3 miles of above-ground high-density polyethylene pipeline. It will replace a pipeline lost when the CZU Fire tore through 1,300 acres of district-owned watershed lands on Ben Lomond Mountain in August 2020.
The above-ground piping will convey raw water from surface sources to a water treatment plant.
“HDPE pipes are ideal for the extremely steep, rugged and mountainous terrain in the San Lorenzo Valley because they are light-weight, flexible and durable,” according to a release from the water district on Thursday.
Other construction options such as undergrounding the pipeline were considered. Officials determined the above-ground HDPE pipeline was the most affordable, fastest and efficient option and has “the least significant impact on the surrounding watershed and redwood forest.”
On Nov. 2, the water district board approved an environmental review process that will take place before the end of the year.
The board also approved hiring the California Conservation Crew to reestablish the pipe “bench” and remove of hazardous trees on Ben Lomond Mountain with the goal of reinstalling the pipeline in spring 2024.
The San Lorenzo Valley Water District, located in the mountains of northern Santa Cruz County, serves more than 7,500 metered connections. The district supplies water to the communities of Boulder Creek, Brookdale, Ben Lomond, Zayante, Quail Hollow, Scotts Valley, Whispering Pines, Manana Woods and Felton.