New valve boosts seismic safety for Sonoma County water lines

Anyone who’s ever labored over a lawn or garden irrigation line can appreciate Wednesday’s installation of a new valve on a 36-inch Sonoma County Water Agency pipeline in downtown Santa Rosa.

In this case, 150,000 water customers in Santa Rosa and Sonoma Valley rely on the pipeline for drinking water - making this much more than a DIY project.

The work on the pipeline in the parking lot of the Sears Auto Center at Santa Rosa Plaza is part of an effort to keep drinking water flowing in the event of an earthquake.

The Water Agency, which provides drinking water to 600,000 residents in nine cities, is installing a total of 14 isolation valves along the 83-mile network of underground pipeline.

It’s the first time in 50 years the agency has embarked on such an undertaking.

“If we have a break, we have to shut off miles of pipeline,” Cordel Stillman, the Water Agency’s deputy chief engineer, said while observing Wednesday’s work. “This allows us to isolate shorter sections of the pipeline to make repairs.”

Funding for the $3.6 million project includes more than $1.9 million in federal emergency management funds. The remaining amount is from local ratepayers.

Stillman said Wednesday’s work, which took about two hours to complete, did not result in disruptions for the customers who rely on the pipeline for water. He said water from Spring Lake tanks was used temporarily for those accounts.

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