Sewer Pipeline Replacement Begins

The city’s ill-fated sewer line is being replaced.

Construction has begun to replace the lower 6,000 feet of a sewer line that broke in February, unleashing 86 million gallons of raw sewage into the Arroyo Conejo. State water regulators recently fined the city more than $2 million for that spill.

“The project follows 1 1/2 years of planning studies, design and securing of permits, all on an accelerated schedule,” said Thousand Oaks Public Works Director Don Nelson. “Complicating the process is the project’s location in the Arroyo Conejo canyon with its rugged terrain and environmentally sensitive areas.”

The $10.4-million public works project was begun near the Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant and will progress south 6,000 feet until the pipeline enters a tunnel. The upper stretch of the canyon line--between the tunnel and Hillcrest Drive--is scheduled for replacement next summer.

To ensure the safe flow of three-quarters of the city’s sewage, a new 42-inch pipeline of durable ductile iron will be installed in the canyon. Also, the existing 30-inch line will be refurbished for backup use.

Workers with Steve Bubalo Construction of Monrovia are expected to complete the first phase of the project by early November.

“On occasion, this will require 12 hours per day, seven days per week,” Dave Sorem of Bubalo Construction said.

The project will also include restoration of plants and trees affected by the work, Nelson said. This process will include the gathering of native seeds from the canyon, the propagation of 2,700 plants from those seeds and their replanting. Nonnative species will be removed, and 10 oaks disturbed by the work will be boxed, stored and replanted as well.