Cal Am marks completion of $50 million water pipeline
MONTEREY — After nearly two years of torn-up streets, construction, and traffic delays, California American Water representatives and several public officials and community leaders marked the completion of a $50 million water pipeline project on Monday.
In a ceremony at the Eardley Avenue roundabout, where the 7-mile pipeline ties into the existing Cal Am water system, Cal Am president Rich Svindland, Pacific Grove’s Mayor Bill Kampe and City Councilman Rudy Fischer, who represented Monterey One Water, and Monterey Peninsula Water Management District General Manager Dave Stoldt all praised the pipeline project as a key element of the proposed Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project.
Holding a copy of “River in Ruin” about the impact of historical overpumping of the Carmel River, Svindland called the pipeline a critical step forward for the long-running local effort to develop a replacement water supply for the Peninsula to offset the state-ordered pumping cutback from the river, as well as court-ordered reductions from the overdrafted Seaside basin.
