South Pasadena provides preliminary update on Westside Reservoir replacement and environmental review

A water division representative (referred to in the meeting as "Nava") updated the Public Works and Infrastructure Commission on Jan. 28 about plans to replace and possibly enlarge the aging Westside Reservoir.

The existing reservoir, built in 1963 and serving a higher-pressure zone, is a roughly 2,000,000-gallon facility, staff said. Preliminary structural and seismic analyses are complete and staff has finished a preliminary design review. Staff reported holding a Dec. 11 community meeting attended by about 20 people and said traffic impacts during construction—especially near school crossings at Oak and Meridian and on narrow residential approaches such as Gillette Crescent—were the most frequent community concern.

Staff said environmental documents are being prepared and community feedback will be incorporated into the environmental review and design. The presenter said the project is being planned in phases to avoid extended water-system outages; temporary well or pump arrangements are expected to reduce reservoir downtime to a few weeks during key conversions. Staff said they hope to advertise for design and bring the project to council for approval with an aim to start construction by 2027, though sequencing and timing remain preliminary.

Commissioners asked about capacity and operational redundancy. Staff said demand in the zone can range from roughly 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 gallons during peak hours, that adding storage and a third pump would improve redundancy, and that the project must comply with Division of Drinking Water (DDW) requirements.

No formal action was taken; staff will return with environmental documents and follow-up public meetings.