The San Lorenzo Valley Water District Board of Directors has authorized emergency funding to repair storm-related damage to the access road that reaches the Lyon Surface Water Treatment Plant.
One day after the board approved spending $150,000 for the emergency repairs, after spotting deep cracks in the access road to the plant, about one-half mile west of downtown Boulder Creek, the road washed out. The slippage of earth and pavement continued into this week.
The slow-moving landslide has rendered the access road thetreatment facility and a 3 million gallon water storage tank impassible by vehicles.
The slide, approximately 200 feet long and 200 feet wide, began more than a week ago and has been shifting about 6 inches per day. It is located on water district property. Over the weekend, the slide’s pace escalated and it began compromising redwood trees near the road. Officials emphasized this week the slide posed no risk to the stability of the large water storage tank, or to the neighborhood downhill from the site.
“The water service is not impacted by this slide and no homes are threatened,” the district said in a statement.
“The slide is not threatening the treatment plant or the steel water storage tank located at the site, and is it not having a direct impact on district operations.”
“The district is working with consulting engineers and geologists, who say the tank is safe,” the district statement read. The consulting geologists are from the Watsonville firm of Haro Kasunich & Associates, Inc.
The welded steel tank has a capacity of about 3 million gallons. Its water level varies. The combined weight of the water in the tank near the landslide is about 10,000 tons.
District employees who work at the treatment plant must walk about a quarter mile to the plant.
District staff is working with geotechnical engineers and geologists to determine ways to temporarily resolve the issue. The District also is coordinating with the Santa Cruz County geologist to ensure the safety and protection of downstream areas.
The district’s board met in a special session Friday afternoon, Feb. 24, to discuss the slide.
The four attending Directors voted unanimously to authorize $150,000 in emergency funds to attempt to halt the slide. A permanent fix will be developed in the future. The District will seek to recover some repair costs through the County’s State of Emergency Declaration.
This storm-related damage adds to the estimated $1.5 million in repair costs to the SLVWD water system this winter. A request for federal funds was made in early February through the office of U.S. Representative Anna Eshoo.
Earlier this month, the water district sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, requesting her assistance in securing federal funds to help the district with an estimated $1.5 million in storm-related damages. The damage estimate was as of the first week of February and was an informal, working estimate.
A formal, detailed report of estimated damage will be developed and presented to the water board at an upcoming meeting, possibly as soon as March 16.
The Lyons Surface Water Treatment Plant, on the west side of Highway 9 along Ben Lomond Mountain, was constructed in 1994. Surface water from Clear Creek, Foreman Creek, Peavine Creek, Silver Creek and Sweetwater Creek are gravity fed to the filtration plant. Water treated at the plant primarily serves the north system of SLVWD’s service area, occasionally serving the entire District.
