Client:
Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board, Lake Cachuma, CA

Completed:
2014-2017

Services:
Alternative Project Delivery, Drinking Water

Water Works Engineers, in partnership with Cushman Contracting Corporation of Goleta, CA, was hired by the Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board to provide design-build services for a 45-mgd pump station with a 3,000ft run of 36″ HDPE connecting the dwindling pool of Lake Cachuma to the intake tower which serves the cities in the Santa Barbara area with drinking water. Due to drought conditions, the lake dropped below the level of the lowest gate in the intake tower and this station has been in continuous use since 2014 to provide water to Santa Barbara and the surrounding cities.

The pump station includes a segmented barge with pumps and self-cleaning intake screens on each pump intake to meet the most stringent fish screening criteria while not requiring any manual maintenance. The entire project was delivered in 4 months in response to the severe drought conditions and emergency nature of the project.