Whiting Ranch Water Project Is Completed

The Irvine Ranch Water District recently completed construction of a 2.5-million-gallon reservoir and a 7,000-foot underground pipeline at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park.

Trails closed by the project are open again. The rest of the park remained open during the construction.

“We really tried to keep the park user in mind and very closely take their needs into consideration,” district spokeswoman Marilyn Smith said.

Whiting Ranch is popular with mountain bikers, hikers and walkers and is considered a major outdoor attraction in southern Orange County.

Vegetation taken out during the work will be replaced in October to coincide with the natural growing cycle of native plants.

Water from the operation will go to residential neighborhoods in Portola Hills, an unincorporated Saddleback Valley community near the park. Service to the community’s 1,300 residents should begin next month.

The reservoir also is expected to improve fire-fighting abilities.

The water district received the reservoir site, three-quarters of an acre, when the Foothill Ranch Co. deeded the 1,066-acre Whiting Ranch property to the county.

Planning for the $3-million project began in January, 1996, allowing the water district and county officials to work with residents, homeowners associations and park users on design and construction issues.