Meeting Set For Garfield Replacement Well Project at Villa Parke

Pasadena Water and Power Department staff will explain the city’s Garfield Replacement Well Project on Saturday, Sept. 25, in a community meeting with residents at Villa Parke Community Center starting at 10 a.m.

The Garfield Replacement Well Project is expected to begin next month and intends to replace the well at Villa-Parke that was drilled in 1921 and removed from service in 2015. In December 2020, all above-ground pumping equipment was removed, and the well was abandoned in compliance with regulatory requirements.

PWP said the replacement well will be drilled about 950 feet deep and located within the park, about 100 feet northwest of the old well. Once completed, the well will be able to produce up to 1,500 gallons of water per minute, comparable to the capacity of the abandoned well. It will also be equipped with a submersible pump, which means noise and the other above-ground impacts will no longer be a problem.

The existing building and fenced perimeter will house replacement electrical equipment and controls.

Once construction begins next month, PWP said nonstop drilling will be necessary until the desired depth is reached.

Based on an analysis of noise levels recorded recently, the contractor will need to implement certain noise mitigation measures, such as installing 24-foot tall sound barriers, adding mufflers to all construction equipment, and using engine enclosures and covers for construction equipment.

PWP said drill cuttings will be hauled out by trucks only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Construction equipment and vehicles will use low-impact, low-noise backup alarms that conform to California Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements, and electric equipment will be used to reduce both the noise and emissions on the site. Noise will be monitored throughout the drilling operation, PWP said.

Before nighttime construction begins, the city will set up a designated phone hotline and an email address which the community could use for project-related information and assistance.

PWP began community outreach in 2019 by meeting with the Pasadena Villa Marengo Homeowners Association, and again in 2020 and 2021. The project team also met with the Reinway Court Homeowner Association in June 2021.

In November 2020, PWP presented the project to the Recreation and Parks Commission and met with the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department to discuss measures to minimize impacts to programs at Villa-Parke Community Center.

Saturday’s meeting will be just behind the Villa-Parke Community Center near the project site, at 363 E. Villa St.

For more information, email PWPGarfieldWell@cityofpasadena.net, or call Michele Carina, principal engineer, at (626) 744-7012.