The city of San Juan Bautista deserves a pat on the back for
landing a $3.8 million grant to help repair its dilapidated water
system. Five years of diligence by the City Council paid off this
week, when city officials announced they got a huge chunk of the
money needed to finance $7.9 million in repairs officials say are
30 years overdue.
The city of San Juan Bautista deserves a pat on the back for landing a $3.8 million grant to help repair its dilapidated water system. Five years of diligence by the City Council paid off this week, when city officials announced they got a huge chunk of the money needed to finance $7.9 million in repairs officials say are 30 years overdue.
Hopefully, jokes about wooden pipes and the constant water pipe breaks will soon become another charmingly nostalgic bit of San Juan lore.
For years, the city neglected to do much about its water system, but the federal grant will change all that. Officials hope the money will allow the city to fund a complete overhaul of the city’s infrastructure to deliver higher-quality water and keep wastewater from becoming a problem with the Regional Water Quality Control Board – the agency that hit Hollister with a building moratorium in 2002.
The city wants to gut Fourth Street, replace the city’s pipes, build a new water treatment plant and construct a 1.25 million-gallon water storage tank to replace the 330,000 gallon tank it has now.
The repairs are a long time coming. Today, the Mission City’s decaying and overburdened water system is a nuisance and an aggravation for residents, businesses, tourists and the city workers who have to tear up the streets whenever a pipe breaks – which is often. Recently, the city had eight pipe breaks in a two-week period.
The woefully inadequate system and its constant need for repairs is a financial drain on the city and poses a safety hazard. In a serious fire or earthquake, there is a chance the city’s water tank could run dry.
The city still needs to come up with about $1 million, and hopes to get everything lined up within 10 months to get the project rolling. The City Council should build on its momentum and get the matter on the agenda as soon as possible so it can scour the city budget and apply for grants to get the final $1 million.
Residents in San Juan have waited long enough to have a decent water system in place.
