On Tuesday afternoon, Jana Tenant was in her backyard in the Bay Village senior community of Watsonville, a place she calls her “sanctuary.”
But on this day—like many others recently—that sanctum was beset by construction noise.
The rhythmic pounding from Bridge Street is from the ongoing College Lake Pipeline Project, a six-mile, 30-inch water main to transport treated water from the College Lake facility in Watsonville to more than 5,000 acres of farmland in the Pajaro Valley.
The project was slated for completion this fall, but has been stalled by unexpected blackages of rock and debris leftover from an early-day landfill at the corner of Bridge and Blackburn streets.
Now, workers are using boring equipment to punch through the blockage. The incessant pounding goes on every day of the week during daylight hours.
Tennant says the noise comes through right into her home.
“I spend a lot of time in my backyard, and pretty soon it feels like this,” she said, roughly tapping her forehead with her index finger. “I can ignore a lot of dogs barking and kids playing. That’s neighborhood stuff, but that stuff is like Chinese water torture.”
Five miles of the pipeline have already been completed. But the snag could significantly extend the completion time.
“The way it looks right now, the boring operation could last through the end of the year and possibly into January,” said Marcus Mendiola, Water Conservation and Outreach Specialist with the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency. “We are aware it creates a loud sound that interrupts that neighborhood and we ask for the public’s patience.”
