MISSION VIEJO : Pipeline Project to Affect 2 Streets

Two of the city’s major streets will be dug up next week in conjunction with the $114-million South County Pipeline project.

Starting Monday, workers will be laying pipe on Olympiad Road near Jeronimo Road between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., a project spokeswoman said.

Before the Mission Viejo portion of the project is completed in November, pipe will be buried along about 27,000 feet of road, said Julia Renyer, a spokeswoman for the Santa Margarita Water District. Only a small portion of that pipeline will be laid beneath Olympiad, between Escatron and Jeronimo; most of the pipeline will be put underneath Jeronimo, between Olympiad and Los Alisos Boulevard.

The South County Pipeline will be used to augment local water supplies and provide backup in case of a major disaster, she said.

“When you have just a single major line serving an area, you are vulnerable (during) earthquakes and other emergencies,” Renyer said.

The project is a joint effort of a consortium of water districts and developers in South County. The lead agency on the project is the Santa Margarita Water District.

The 66-inch pipeline will stretch 24.7 miles from El Toro to San Clemente. Ground was broken on the project in September. Water officials expect the final length of pipe to be laid during the spring of 1991.

In addition to the pipeline, the project also will include the digging of a reservoir in unincorporated Verdugo Canyon, near Ortega Highway.

The reservoir will hold about two days of emergency storage water, in case of a disruption in supply to South County residents, Renyer said.

The pipeline will primarily serve San Clemente, which now receives all its water through a single pipe, she said.

“It will add much-needed capacity to the San Clemente area,” Renyer said, “although the whole South County area needs it as a backup.”

Residents who have questions about the roadwork or the project may call an information line during business hours, at (714) 455-2725.