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Council hears timeline and cost estimates after Lopes Road landslide damaged main raw-water pipeline
Summary
Public Works Director Danielle Bonham updated the council on the March 29, 2023 slope collapse that damaged the 36-inch raw-water transmission line, giving a reconstruction schedule through 2025 and estimated Benicia share of permanent restoration costs at $2.2 million of a $9 million project.
Public Works Director Danielle Bonham told the Benicia City Council the city is progressing through design and FEMA reimbursement planning after a March 2023 slope collapse on Lopes Road damaged the city's 36-inch raw-water transmission line.
"Temporary bypass costs the total was $1,330,000," Bonham said, and she outlined a phased schedule: 65% design by November 2024, 95% by January 2025 and 100% design with environmental permitting by February 2025, with bidding in March and award in May 2025. Construction is expected to begin in summer 2025 and run through the winter months, with completion targeted by the end of 2025.
Bonham explained FEMA reimbursement categories and said staff has submitted Category B and expects to pursue both Category B and Category F for the permanent restoration. She estimated Benicia's share of the permanent restoration at $2,200,000 with the total project cost estimated at $9,000,000; staff also flagged resiliency measures that could add about $850,000 in optional elements.
Council members asked about slope movement and stabilization; Bonham said the hillside is still sliding and that stabilization (including drilling) will be required before moving into major construction and that the new alignment will sit lower at the base of the hillside near the roadway rather than within the current slope.
Why it matters: the transmission line is the city's primary raw-water feed; reconstruction costs and FEMA reimbursement assumptions will affect the water-reserve fund and capital budgeting. Bonham noted the water reserve balance is approximately $15,000,000 and that temporary bypass costs have already been incurred.
