Valley Water celebrated the completion of a major pipeline project Sept. 19 after four years of construction.
The Main Avenue and Madrone Pipelines Restoration project installed roughly 14,000 feet of pipeline, or about three miles. The system delivers local and imported water from Anderson Reservoir and the Santa Clara Conduit to the Main Avenue recharge ponds and the Madrone channel.
The original pipeline was built in 1955, but decades of wear and overgrown tree roots rendered it unusable, according to Valley Water Director John Varela, who represents District 1 on the Valley Water board.
“The Main Avenue and Madrone Pipeline project is part of our commitment to continue providing reliable, safe and clean water to Morgan Hill and south Santa Clara County,” he said.
The completion of the project is also critical, Varela noted, because not only does Morgan Hill import 55 percent of its drinking water, but all of it comes from groundwater.
Before the pipeline restoration, Valley Water had to fill its percolation ponds with imported water pumped through the Pacheco Pumping Plant from San Luis Reservoir, nearly 40 miles away, according to Varela.
The $17.7 million project was funded by the 2012 voter-approved Measure B, also known as the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program. The countywide parcel tax sunsets in 2028.
Marina-based Monterey Peninsula Engineering was the construction contractor for the project that was completed in three phases beginning in 2015.
A 20-by-30-inch bronze plaque commemorating the project will be installed at the Madrone channel trail.
“The three miles of 30-inch and 36-inch well water pipelines are going to be instrumental in meeting current and future groundwater recharge for this entire area,” Varela said. “With the completion of this project, the pipelines are now capable of functioning at full operating capacity.”
As Valley Water completes one project, it recently embarked on another.
Water officials joined federal and state leaders on Aug. 28 in a groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of a five-year, $180 million flood control protection project for the Upper Llagas Creek watershed, from Gilroy to north Morgan Hill.
Extending 13 miles from Buena Vista Avenue in Gilroy to just beyond Llagas Road within the City of Morgan Hill, the project is designed to protect hundreds of properties susceptible to flooding during storm events. The first phase of work consists of channel widening and deepening, in-stream improvements for wildlife and habitat, and revegetation.
The project is also being funded through the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program.
