California Water Service (Cal Water) began a water infrastructure upgrade this week in downtown Los Altos that will improve water supply reliability and fire protection in the area.
The upgrade includes replacing more than 7,060 feet of aging water main, along with replacing and installing additional fire hydrants and valves.
“We continually modernize and upgrade our water system because providing safe, clean, reliable drinking water to our customers is our top priority,” said Dawn Smithson, Los Altos suburban district manager. “This is an important project for our downtown area, and we appreciate everyone’s patience during construction, as we continue our partnership with the city of Los Altos to make water system improvements that will benefit our community for decades to come.”
Work will be completed in two phases:
• Phase one includes construction on Plaza Central, from Third Street to State Street, then going down State Street to Main Street, and back up Main Street to Third Street. Crews will also install main on Third Street, from Plaza North to Plaza South.
• Phase two, the remainder of Plaza Central, from Third Street to First Street, will be completed.
Work will continue along all of Plaza North, from First Street to Edith Avenue, and then down Edith to San Antonio Road.
Construction is expected to take two months for phase one and three months for phase two.
After each phase, Cal Water must flush the water lines and test water quality samples. Traffic control will be in place to help keep motorists and workers safe, and to reduce potential traffic impacts when partial lane closures are needed.
While some parking spaces may be unavailable during construction, all businesses in the immediate area will remain accessible, officials said.
For more information, contact the Cal Water office at (650) 917-0152 or visit calwater.com.
California Water Service provides water utility services to 70,100 people through 18,500 service connections in Los Altos, and more than 2 million people statewide through 499,400 service connections.
