By Julie BUTCHER

On Thursday, the Crescenta Valley Water District hosted a community meeting in the cul-de-sac at the end of Brookhill Avenue to give local residents the chance to learn firsthand about the imminent plan to construct a new eight-inch water main under the 2700 block of Brookhill Avenue and then under the 5000 block of La Crescenta Avenue.

They even brought cookies.

“We try and do this at the beginning of every major construction project,” District Engineer David Gould told the small group assembled to hear about the trench to be dug down the middle of their street. “It gives us a chance to explain what’s going to happen and to connect neighbors with the project manager, to introduce the contractors who’ll be doing the work, to answer questions.”

The current pipeline being replaced is original to the neighborhood, laid in 1947. It’s leaked in the past and “its time has come,” Cory Whitman explained.

Whitman is a construction and backflow inspector for the water district and will serve as the on-site coordinator for the duration of the water main construction.

Gould told the group of neighbors that construction is expected to start in approximately four weeks and that it should last about that long once it starts. The trenching of the street will happen in 46-foot stretches, with work being done from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each weekday beginning in mid-to-late May. The current target start date is May 21.

Residents connected with point person Whitman to make sure they will be able to get in and out of their driveways during construction. The district plans on having steel plates available to facilitate this effort.

“Because we’re replacing the four-inch pipe with eight-inch pipe,” Gould said in regard to a question asked, “you’ll see an improvement of the flow of water to your meter. You won’t see a change in the pressure, but you’ll see better flow. Also, we can’t hook up fire hydrants to the old, four-inch pipes so [currently] you have none on your street. Now we’re going to be able to add three fire hydrants here on this street. That’s the good news. The bad news is that you’ll lose some parking. We will try and make sure the parking loss straddles properties as much as possible. And you may want to contact your home insurance folks as some companies give you a break if you’ve got improved fire suppression measures in place.”

Gould went through the details of the project: the district will replace the water main as well as “laterals” running from the main up to the meter box of each property. During construction, no parking will be allowed on either side of the street during the construction hours. Residents will get 48-hours’ notice immediately before the two times the water will be turned off, once for a full day and then once more for approximately half a day. In addition to formal notification letters, the district plans on hanging door hangers to further alert customers. The district said it will respond to special needs, events and circumstances, and people at the meeting left with Whitman’s cell phone number.

The neighbors of the Brookhill Avenue cul-de-sac expressed their appreciation of the responsiveness of the CVWD.

“It’s great to see them coming out here to our street to explain what’s going to happen ahead of time. It means a lot to the families on this street. Plus, they’re working hard to be as accommodating as they can be. We’re very lucky to live in this community,” one resident said at the end of the gathering.

  Julie BUTCHER