CASITAS SPRINGS : Residents to Review Evacuation Plan
Casitas Springs residents will be able to review an emergency evacuation plan before a water treatment plant is built near Foster Park.
The review is one of nine conditions that the Casitas Municipal Water District adopted Wednesday in response to residents’ concerns.
District officials have said the proposed $25-million plant must be built by 1993 to bring Lake Casitas water up to state and federal drinking standards. The reservoir supplies water to 55,000 people in Ventura, the Ojai Valley and the Rincon area.
Nearly 100 residents questioned the environmental study of the plant last month, saying they were alarmed by the chemicals that would be used and the size of the system, which includes pipelines, pumping stations, holding tanks and a hydro-electric power plant near Casitas Dam.
Officials said an ozone treatment method planned at the plant uses toxic chemicals, but is one of the cheapest and safest methods the district investigated.
The district board agreed to limit chemical-laden trucks to 20 m.p.h. on local roads, to restrict heavy equipment except concrete trucks to operating between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and to require construction workers to car-pool.
The district will also replace any damaged oaks or sycamores and will appoint a construction manager to address residents’ concerns.
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