Water Company Proposes Rerouting Pipe Above Millard Canyon Area

A project that would relocate a 10-inch diameter pipe from nearby a popular hiking trail in Millard Canyon and run it along a fire road has recently been evaluated by the Forest Service and is now in the public comment phase.

The project would be carried out by the Lincoln Avenue Water Company, which supplies water to households in West Altadena.

An email was sent out Friday by local wildlife activist Lori Paul, who noted that the project is now in the public comment phase where any concerns of the public would be noted.  The community, she argued in the email, has not been made aware of the project.

"Notification regarding the release and comment period for the  DRAFT Environmental Assessment (EA) for the 'Lincoln Avenue Water Company Project' in Angeles National Forest below was published as a tiny ad in the Los Angeles Times classified section on or around 18 August 2011," wrote Paul in an email sent out to various members of the Altadena community. "Almost 2 weeks of the time allocated for public comment has already passed."

Bob Hayward, the manager of the Lincoln Avenue Water Company, told Patch Friday that the Forest Service was responsible for publishing the ad and collecting public comment.  Representatives of the Forest Service did not immediately return calls requesting comment.

Past  Millard Canyon issues:

Water Diversion at Millard Canyon

In the assessment of the project, which can be viewed at right, the Forest Service evaluated potential environmental impacts of the project and discussed what the alternative of leaving the pipe in place might entail.

The report states that the project stream beds would impact 0.009 acres of stream bed in Millard Canyon and 0.0005 acres in El Prieto Canyon.  However, the report also suggests that not putting in a new pipe would have more of an impact in the long run as it would require new facilities to be built to maintain water usage in the area.

The project would mean that 1,400 feet of pipe line would be removed from the side of the cliff along the Sunset Ridge hiking trail and would be put underground alongside the Mt. Lowe Fire Road, Hayward said.

The pipe is exposed in places along the trail and is almost 100 years old, he added.

The project would take about 5 days to complete and would not necessitate closing the trail or the road.

Work will begin after the public comment phase has ended Hayward said.  The project did receive initial public scoping and was the subject of a public meeting in June of 2009, according to the report.

Paul wrote in her email that the public comment phase ends September 30 and suggested that comments should be mailed to:

Graham  Breakwell Special Uses Administrator
Los Angeles River Ranger District (LARRD) USFS 
12371 N. Little Tujunga Canyon Road
San Fernando, CA 91342.

Patch was unable to confirm the date or the address for comments as of Friday afternoon.