Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Rainbow approves MND for Gopher Canyon pipeline

The Rainbow Municipal Water District board approved an environmental mitigated negative declaration along with a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for Rainbow’s Gopher Canyon Water Pipeline Improvements project.

The board’s 5-0 vote, March 23, adopted the MND and the MMRP while also formally approving the Gopher Canyon Pipeline Improvements project.

The pipelines along Gopher Canyon Road and Integrity Court are fragmented, and they have several dead ends which hinder flow between the Gopher Canyon Tank and the Turner Tank. A 1,340-foot segment of four-inch and six-inch asbestos concrete pipe between Margale Lane and Disney Lane north of Gopher Canyon Road was constructed in the 1960s and is within an easement which is difficult to access when repairs or maintenance is needed.

The proposed Gopher Canyon Water Pipeline Improvements project will connect dead ends along Gopher Canyon Road and Integrity Court, and the looping will also connect pipelines along Gopher Canyon Road between Disney Lane and Margale Lane.

“If we have a shutdown in one area, it won’t affect as many people,” Rainbow general manager Tom Kennedy said.

The fire hydrants, water meters and private water laterals which are currently connected to the pipeline in the easement will be relocated to Gopher Canyon Road. The asbestos concrete pipe will be abandoned, and the portion of the pipeline which is now in the roadway along Margale Lane will be replaced with a new 8-inch high pressure polyvinyl chloride pipe.

Altogether the project will provide 2,125 feet of 8-inch PVC pipeline along Gopher Canyon Road, 1,363 feet of 12-inch PVC pipeline and 837 feet of eight-inch PVC pipeline along Disney Lane, and 1,068 feet of eight-inch PVC pipeline along Integrity Court.

“We’re just trying to loop a lot of these pipelines together to replace aging infrastructure,” acting district engineer Chad Williams said.

The district utilized Helix Environmental Inc. as a consultant to analyze 20 environmental issue categories and determine whether the project’s environmental impacts for any category would be significant. The mitigated negative declaration is 228 pages and determined that with mitigation measures the project would not create any significant environmental impacts.

The MND was released for a 30-day public review period from Jan. 15 to Feb. 13. Comments were received from the California Department of Transportation and from the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians. Rainbow staff representatives met virtually with Rincon tribe representatives Jan. 25, and a virtual meeting with the Pauma tribe occurred Jan. 28. The Caltrans letter requested clarification of the project, copies of plans and compliance with Caltrans requirements. The Rincon tribe requested monitoring during construction and notification of future projects.

The Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program includes a construction noise limit of 75 decibels A as an eight-hour average or as a one-hour average for night work, notification of nearby residences within 300 feet a week before construction activities and a noise resolution process. Fire prevention best management practices will be implemented. The Gopher Canyon Road grading and construction will avoid sensitive habitat. If any cultural artifacts are discovered during excavation an archeologist and a tribal representative will be contacted to assess the significance of the artifact and to implement protective measures. A traffic control plan will ensure traffic flow and roadway safety during construction.

If any vegetation is removed between Feb. 15 and Sept. 15, a pre-construction nesting bird survey will be taken. If construction along Integrity Court occurs between March 15 and June 30 a pre-construction California Gnatcatcher survey will be taken and noise attenuation measures will be implemented near sensitive habitat areas. A pre-construction survey with necessary noise attenuation measures for the Least Bell’s Vireo will apply for any Disney Lane work between March 15 and Sept. 15.

The MND allows the project to proceed, but Rainbow prioritizes capital improvement projects and no funding for the construction work has been budgeted.

“It’s in the hopper for construction,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy indicated that construction is likely to begin within 18 months.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].

Author Bio

Joe Naiman, Writer

Joe Naiman has been writing for the Village News since 2001

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/26/2024 05:09