Amador County – Pine Grove Community Service District this week was planning to wrap up pre-application work with the USDA for a new water pipeline to serve its 360 customers, and raise domestic and fire flows to meet minimum standards or better.

Paul Johnston, president of the Pine Grove CSD said Tuesday the district is close to entering the application phase for an estimated $400,000 water pipeline that would replace existing line, and revitalize water flows for domestic and fire flows, putting them to normal or higher capacity.

Johnston said Pine Grove CSD has 360 accounts and District officials were planning to meet Wednesday (Oct. 26) with representatives of the USDA to discuss a long-term loan, of which 45 percent of the loan could come in the form of an additional grant, and the department offers reasonably cheap interest rates.

The project was estimated to cost $400,000, which is pretty large for a small district with an annual budget that is about $300,000, Johnston said. The Pine Grove CSD buys water wholesale from the Central Amador Water Project, operated by the Amador Water Agency. The water is then sold retail to its customers, north of Highway 88 and west of Ridge Road.

The project, engineered by Doug Ketron, will replace 3,700 feet of pipeline from the tank yard, behind the fire station to the existing line behind the former Claypool’s market. It will also add 1,800 feet of new pipeline to the tank. They are increasing the size of the pipeline to deliver more water and higher pressure for fire fighting, Johnston said. It will get the pressures to a minimum legal requirement of 20 pounds per square inch of pressure or higher.

The old line is 6-inch diameter, and the replacement pipeline will be 12 inches, increasing its size by double. Johnson said it should triple the water capacity. He said the project could replace some lines that are 30 years old, in areas along Ridge Road, such as Sunset Heights and Druid Lane.

Johnston said Wednesday’s meeting will wind up the pre-application phase with USDA. The District will work to file the application, and hopefully have some money to break ground by next April.

He spoke at the recent Amador County Transportation Commission meeting, last week, and later said the project’s focus change to pursue a preferred three-lane, through-town hybrid project, would have minimal affect on the Pine Grove CSD’s new pipeline project.

The ACTC dismissed the southern bypass, due to cost. He said the alignment would have taken out the Pine Grove Market, and would have affected all of the pipeline’s location.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.