Local business raises dust complaint over water-line project; city to water site twice daily and move soil piles

A downtown Palaca business owner raised concerns during public comment on March 26 about recurring dust from a nearby water-line construction project that he says coats vehicles minutes after washing and hurts his operations.

The owner described dusty soil piles and asked what mitigation could be provided to protect his business. Public works staff and the contractor answered that they had inspected the site, would run a water truck twice daily (morning and afternoon) to control dust, move some piles farther from the driveway and prioritize finishing the affected section sooner. Public works said those steps should begin that day or the next and estimated the disruption could continue for a few months.

Commissioners also suggested additional temporary measures, such as flexible ground covers or temporary matting in critical driveway areas, and asked staff to increase direct communication with affected businesses before construction begins. Staff agreed to explore cloth-style ground coverings rather than plastic to reduce dust and mud trade-offs.

What’s next: staff will follow up with the business owner, direct the contractor to execute twice-daily watering and dirt relocation, and report back on the effectiveness of these measures. If mitigation is ineffective, staff said they would consider additional solutions or scheduling changes to reduce business impacts.