Draft Environmental Impact Report - East Bay Municipal Utility District

Chapter 2Project Description2.1 OverviewThe Estates Reservoir Replacement Project is part of a planned system of improvementslocated in East Bay Municipal Utility District's (EBMUD) Oakland Hills service area (southof Highway 24 north of the Oakland/San Leandro border). The Project is designed toimprove water quality and increase system reliability and operating efficiency by removingexcess, inefficient storage and aging facilities requiring major rehabilitation or replacement.Reducing the amount of distribution storage in the Dingee Pressure Zone (currently servedby both Estates and Dingee Reservoirs) will also improve the water quality in the higherelevation pressure zones supplied from the Dingee Pressure Zone.The Project includes the replacement of the existing terraced Estates reservoir roof (includingone planter and two fountains), and the removal of an embankment dam and open-cut, belowgrade reservoir. In its place, EBMUD will construct two buried concrete tanks incorporatedinto a comprehensive landscape plan. A conceptual landscape plan was developed withcommunity input and addresses the visual/aesthetic impacts associated with proposed changesto the site. The Dingee Reservoir will be decommissioned once the replacement Estates tanksare in-service.Construction activities involve the demolition of the existing open-cut reservoir followed by theconstruction of two cylindrical 3.3-million gallon (MG) buried concrete tanks with landscapingand associated appurtenances. A comprehensive landscape plan with varied plants, anarchitecturally detailed landscape wall, and contouring of the site will be implemented to create anew and pleasing aesthetic environment. In response to EBMUD’s Vulnerability AssessmentProgram-Security Upgrades, the existing chain-link security fence along the site perimeter will bereplaced, at the same location. The fence height will increase from six to eight feet, and the meshsize will change from two to one inch. The fence color will remain the same (black).The Project also includes an upgrade to the electrical and mechanical facilities at the adjacentMontclair Pumping Plant, located below the reservoir embankment. No changes to thepumping plant structure are proposed.2.2 Project Need and Objectives2.2.1 Project BackgroundService Area. EBMUD’s water distribution system overall provides water service to20 incorporated cities and 15 unincorporated areas in Alameda and Contra CostaCounties (Figure 2-1, East Bay Municipal Utility District Service Area).sb09_001.doc 2-1 7/22/2009