Poring over the pros and cons of Oak Park water line

A new underground water pipeline is coming to Oak Park, but the project could pose traffic challenges for residents.

The pipeline is part of the Calleguas district's Oak ParkNorth Ranch recycled water system, which provides irrigation for North Ranch Golf Course, local homeowners associations, roadway medians and other greenbelt areas.

Work on the five-month, $2.4-million project will begin this month.

The Kanan Road intersections most affected will be Churchwood-Hawthorne, Los Arcos and Golden Eagle. One westbound lane on Kanan will be closed between the intersections.

Calleguas Municipal Water District, which is overseeing the work, plans to minimize the impact on traffic by working nights and weekends. Residents of two homes will be offered hotel rooms during the nighttime work, which may be noisy, said Susan Mulligan, Calleguas engineering manager. The agency will work directly with residents whose driveways may be affected by the work.

"We will do our best to make this as fast and painless as possible and leave the streets in better shape than when we found them so we can create a more reliable system," Mulligan said.

Two-way traffic will be open at all times, Mulligan said. Temporary water tanks with noise enclosures will be installed to help provide water for irrigation while the pipeline is down.

The pipe has broken several times over the past decade, resulting in the loss of thousands of gallons of water and thousands of dollars in repairs. The most recent break occurred in October under Kanan between Golden Eagle Drive and Lindero Canyon Road. That break caused the loss of 40,000 gallons of water and cost about $600,000 to repair.

The original line was installed by another company using a weak plastic material. The new pipe, made of high-density plastic and ductile iron, is expected to last 50 years, Mulligan said.

Updates on the work will be available at the websites www .triunfosanitationdistrict.com and www.calleguas.com.