WATSONVILLE — The Santa Cruz County Public Works is hoping to replace a little more than five miles of sewer line in the unincorporated part of South County, a massive project that includes five areas in Watsonville.
County officials have determined that the Freedom Sewer Rehabilitation Project would not have a significant environmental impact. The Public Works department is currently taking public comment.
According to the Santa Cruz County Public Works Department, the deteriorating existing sewer lines — more than 27,000 feet — are as much as 60 years old. Without rehabilitation, the lines could leak along the buried pipelines.
County officials will apply for grant funding to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the State Water Resources Control Board.
It is currently unknown how much the project will cost. The size of the project will be determined by the amount of grant money and loan funding the county receives, said Ashleigh Trujillo of the Public Works Department.
If approved, the project would run during the dry months of April through October, and last from 2019-21.
For the project, workers would replace existing wastewater collection lines, located predominately within existing paved roadways. It would include modifications to existing manholes and to the two existing tie-ins on airport property.
The project area is divided into five improvement locations, based on residential neighborhoods.
These are:
• Ponderosa Avenue/Hathaway Avenue
• Arroyo Drive/Roberta Drive/Mark Avenue
• Trembley Lane
• Green Valley Road
• North of Watsonville Municipal Airport
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Anyone who wishes to comment on the Freedom Sewer Rehabilitation Project must do so by July 10 at 5 p.m. Comments can be addressed to Kent Edler, Senior Civil Engineer, 701 Ocean St., Room 410, Santa Cruz, 95060. Comments can also be emailed to [email protected]. Writers should reference “FCSD Sewer Rehabilitation IS/MND.”
For information, visit tinyurl.com/ybh3k98f.
