Long-planned reservoir is finally under construction

A long-planned reservoir intended to supply water to protect homes that were destroyed in the Yorba Linda wildfire last year is finally under construction, more than 30 years after it was first promised, water officials said.

Work crews broke ground last week on a 2-million-gallon underground reservoir that will feed water to the upper Hidden Hills Estates neighborhood, a hillside community where 19 homes burned down in November’s Freeway Complex fire.

Firefighters had to abandon the neighborhood after pumps that supplied water to homes and hydrants failed during the blaze and only air came out. Fire officials later said five homes could have been saved if they had had water.

The reservoir facility will cost at least $5 million and is scheduled to be completed by June 2010, according to the Yorba Linda Water District.

The Times reported in January that the plan to build a reservoir to give the neighborhood a reliable water supply remained stalled in bureaucracy for years, even after thousands of homeowners paid for it through property taxes and the agency responsible for it had $9 million in an account ready to build it.

Water officials had planned to build the reservoir since 1978 but repeatedly delayed the project because they were uncertain how many homes developers ultimately planned to build in the neighborhood -- and, thus, how large to build the tank.

After the fire, residents who for years had complained of spotty water service filed legal claims against the water district and the city, saying that if the reservoir had been built decades ago as promised, their homes might have been saved.

Water officials expedited the project in recent months, moving past land-use and environmental regulations.

“We’re glad to see it finally get into construction,” said Ken Vecchiarelli, general manager of the Yorba Linda Water District.

But even when the gravity-fed system is completed, there will be no guarantee every home will be protected, water officials said, as demand can exceed supply in a large-scale blaze.

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tony.barboza@latimes.com