Miles of Mill Valley Pipelines Getting an Upgrade This Summer

The Marin Municipal Water District will be busy fixing old pipes in Mill Valley this summer in order to ensure a reliable supply of drinking water and sufficient water for firefighting.

On Rose and Hazel avenues, MMWD hired Petaluma-based Team Ghilotti to replace more than a mile of pipeline from the 1920’s that no longer meets current fire-fighting standards.

The $744,000 project is part of the district’s Fire Flow Improvement Program and involves replacing the 5,430 feet of an outdated 4-inch lock converse pipe with a new, 6-to-8-inch welded steel pipe that will allow more water to flow through hydrants, said spokeswoman Ann Vallee. It will bump the waterpower from 300 gallons per minute to more than 1,000 gallons per minute.

The project is scheduled to start on June 6, and the district expects it will be completed by October 4.

“Both the contractor and MMWD will make every effort to minimize traffic disruptions during construction,” Vallee said.

The district’s Fire Flow Improvement Program is funded through a $75 annual parcel fee. Since 1997 the fee has supported the investment of more than $70 million in fire flow and seismic-related improvements throughout the district’s service area and the replacement of more than 61 miles of pipe. The initial fire flow program ran from 1997 to 2012. The Rose and Hazel project is part of the new Fire Flow Improvement Program, which runs from 2013 through 2032.

MMWD is also doing a smaller project replacing 1,920 feet of pipeline along Richardson Drive in Strawberry. A 2-inch galvanized threaded pipe and a 6-inch cast iron pipe, both from 1947, have reached the end of their useful lives, Vallee said. The district hired D&D Pipelines out of San Francisco for the $188,000 capital project.

That work, which will improve the overall reliability of the water distribution system, is scheduled to start the first week of June and will be complete by July 1.

MMWD maintains more than 900 miles of pipeline and 200 water storage tanks and pumps, with parts of the system dating back more than 100 years and the district is continually updating older, worn-out facilities.

MMWD customers with questions about the project can contact the district at 415-945-1569