Benicia Proclaims Local Emergency; Announces Testing of Bypass Line for Damaged Water Transmission Pipeline
Benicia, CA – The City of Benicia proclaimed a local emergency following the break in its water transmission line when a hillside in Fairfield collapsed during recent rain storms.
The declaration of a local emergency will enable the city to use all resources necessary to repair the damaged water transmission pipeline. “It’s important for us to take this action so that the city can receive funding through the California Disaster Assistance Act and any other State and Federal funding that may be available,” said Mario Giuliani, interim city manager.
Benicia Public Works and various contractors are working on a temporary bypass line to regain access to the city’s primary water sources which are delivered via the damaged line. Designing the bypass began last week upon notification of the damage. Construction for the bypass line began on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 and is expected to be ready for testing on Friday, April 7. If testing is successful, then water transmission from Cordelia to the City of Benicia will be partially restored. While testing is scheduled to begin on Friday, it could take several days to fully assess the viability of the temporary system. Construction is now underway 24-hours a day until testing is complete.
“This is a highly complex project,” said Public Works Director Kyle Ochenduszko. “The bypass line is unique to the pipeline system and ever evolving circumstances. While we are confident that the bypass line will be successful, this is a situation with many variables,” he explained.
The bypass line is a temporary solution that will provide the community water while the primary pipeline is being repaired.
The bypass line will deliver water at a lower capacity than the main line. Benicia’s water source will still be coming from Lake Herman until the bypass line has been successfully tested. Benicia residents and businesses are still under 40 percent mandatory water conservation until further notice.
A special webpage has been established to provide a one-stop source for information about this incident. The site can be found at www.ci.benicia.ca.us/WaterTransmissionLine. Social media posts, email notifications and other communications materials are being regularly distributed to residents and businesses as information becomes available. To sign up for emergency alerts, visit AlertSolano.com.
March 29: City of Benicia Announces Mandatory Water Conservation
Benicia, CA (March 29, 2023) — Effective immediately, all Benicia residents and businesses are required to conserve water due to damage to the City’s main water line that delivers all drinking water to the City of Benicia. The damage occurred when a hillside collapsed near I-680 and Gold Hill Road, just outside Benicia city limits. The slope failure caused a brief closure of I-680 today.
Benicia Public Works crews and various contractors are onsite and actively working to determine the extent of damage to the water line which delivers drinking water to Benicia.
The City has implemented a Stage 4 “Critical Water Shortage” alert which requires all residences, businesses, community organizations, schools, hotels and others to reduce water use by up to 40 percent. Some activities to reduce water usage include:
- Take shorter showers
- Use dishwashers and washing machines with full loads only
“We recognize we are asking a lot of our residents, businesses and community members,” said Mario Giuliani, Interim City Manager. “This is an extraordinary situation requiring urgent action to reduce water consumption. Our crews are working to determine the extent of the damage to the line that delivers our drinking water. We are asking that residents and businesses conserve water and be patient.”
Benicia relies on water from Lake Herman as a secondary source and will access this water during the closure of the damaged line. Water from Lake Herman may have an earthy taste or odor in tap water during this time. This is due to naturally occurring compounds such as organic carbon. This drinking water still meets or exceeds all State and Federal requirements for safe drinking water.
The City will send regular information about this situation through the news media, email news, City social media channels and more through this situation. To receive emergency notifications, sign up for Alert Solano at AlertSolano.com.
Source: https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/watertransmissionline
