Placer County Water Agency outlines Shady Glen consolidation and $35 million Colfax treatment-plant replacement

Douglas Shork (associate engineer, Placer County Water Agency) updated the Colfax City Council on Feb. 26 about two water projects that will affect the Colfax service area: the Shady Glen consolidation project and a replacement of the Colfax Water Treatment Plant.

Shady Glen consolidation: PCWA plans to install roughly 1,700 linear feet of pipeline, mostly within the Highway 174 right-of-way, to connect the privately operated Shady Glen Mobile Home Park water system to the Colfax distribution system. Agency staff said the privately owned Shady Glen system has been failing and the park’s new owners are not prepared to invest in required upgrades; the consolidation is voluntary for the community and the state has provided funding to cover the full cost of the project. Loring Brothers Construction is the local contractor that submitted a bid package, and PCWA staff said traffic control will be required during construction but at least one lane will remain open when work is active. Construction activity and closures are anticipated through June, and typical working hours will be 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Colfax Water Treatment Plant replacement: PCWA said the existing plant—purchased from PG&E in the mid-1950s—has an existing production capacity of 1.24 million gallons per day and total storage of about 1.9 million gallons across three tanks. The planned new plant will increase treatment capacity to 2.0 million gallons per day, accommodate consolidation (including the Shady Glen connection) and can be expanded by adding an additional treatment unit to reach 3.0 million gallons per day if regional consolidation proceeds. The total project cost for the new treatment plant is $35,000,000 with an estimated construction cost of $28,600,000. PCWA said bids will open March 7, award is planned for April 3, and a notice to proceed is tentatively scheduled for April 20; construction is expected to take about 30 months with completion projected in late 2027.

PCWA staff noted the agency is studying broader regionalization between Colfax and nearby purveyors such as Applegate; staff said regionwide consolidation could eventually cover as many as 4,300 connections. The new plant site design includes landscape screening and other measures to reduce visual impacts on nearby residents. PCWA representatives said the existing plant will be decommissioned and isolated by valving but not yet demolished; any future repurposing or demolition would be planned separately.

Council members asked technical and practical questions about traffic control, pump pressures and whether water from the project is for drinking water production; PCWA staff confirmed the project is for treated drinking water and that the expanded capacity is intended to serve existing Colfax customers plus consolidations. The presentation included public questions and clarification about work windows and lane control. No formal council action was required at the Feb. 26 meeting on PCWA’s presentation.