Starting August 3, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power will begin the long-planned construction on the Santa Ynez Reservoir, which provides water for domestic use and firefighting in Pacific Palisades. DWP is covering the 9.2-acre open reservoir in the Highlands with hypalon (synthetic rubber) and switching disinfectants from chlorine to chloramine to meet two new rules that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established to make drinking water safer. The two-year project will cost about $17 million, and DWP has hired Environmental Construction, Inc. in Woodland Hills as the contractor. DWP representatives initially met with Pacific Palisades residents in 2002 to begin devising a landscape master plan. The group decided on a green-and-black streaked floating cover to visually blend with the adjacent brush-colored landscape. The helipad, debris retention basin, access road and service road along the perimeter will also be surfaced with a darker color to complement the reservoir cover. At that time, DWP planned to have the construction completed by 2006; however, the project was delayed until now because EPA changed its compliance deadlines, according to Paul Rugar, DWP project manager. Construction on the inside of the reservoir will be done in two six-month phases and partly in the winter when the weather is cooler and the demand for water is reduced. Highlands residents will receive their water from Upper Stone Canyon Reservoir during those months. From August to October, crews will perform mechanical and electrical work around the reservoir’s perimeter. On October 1, DWP will begin draining 117 million gallons of water from the reservoir, which will take about a month. The contractor will then demolish the reservoir concrete inlet/outlet tower and steel walkway bridge, grind down the reservoir side slopes and bottom asphalt liner and excavate the reservoir bottom for the installation of concrete vaults for valves and large mixers. Lastly, the contractor will place new asphalt on the reservoir side slopes and bottom. All of this activity should be done by April 31, 2010, so that the reservoir can be refilled for the summer. Neighbors should expect truck traffic from November through April, DWP spokeswoman Stephanie Interiano told the Palisadian-Post on Monday. ‘While we make every effort to respect the peace and quiet of the community, truck traffic will be necessary to ensure the timely completion of this phase of the project due to the limited time that the reservoir can be out of service,’ Interiano said. ‘LADWP will work expeditiously to minimize the truck traffic in the area.’ DWP does not have an estimate of how many trucks will travel daily from Palisades Drive to Santa Ynez Road, but Interiano said the department should have one this fall. Crews will work Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. On October 1, 2010, the reservoir will be drained once again for the final phase of construction, which will resume on November 1. During that phase, the contractor will install the floating cover and the rainwater removal pumps. The reservoir’s perimeter will also be paved. On May 1, 2011, the reservoir will be refilled and then crews will finish up the landscaping, which should be completed by August. To prepare for the project, DWP has already constructed two pressure-regulating stations at Avenida de Santa Ynez and at the intersection of Romany and Almalfi in the Riviera ‘to improve system reliability in the service area and to facilitate the removal of Santa Ynez Reservoir from service for a prolonged period of time,’ Rugar told the Post last December. DWP has also constructed a new cistern at Pacific Palisades Reservoir (on upper Chautauqua) for the L.A. Fire Department’s large helicopters to use for fighting brush fires. ‘Once the floating cover is in place, these helicopters will no longer be able to dip their snorkels into the Santa Ynez Reservoir, but will instead have to use the cistern at Pacific Palisades Reservoir,’ Rugar said. ‘However, the smaller choppers will still be able to land at Santa Ynez Reservoir and use the fire hydrants to fill their tanks.’
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