Crescent City is partnering with Elk Valley Rancheria to begin a rehabilitation project on its Amador water storage tank. Photo: Jessica Cejnar

Crescent City will work with Elk Valley Rancheria to begin a rehabilitation of one of its two water storage tanks.

Elk Valley Rancheria received a $200,000 Bureau of Reclamation grant they will use to begin rehabilitating the city’s Amador water tank, Crescent City Public Works Director Jon Olson told Councilors at a special meeting Tuesday.

Councilors unanimously approved contributing $95,000 from the city’s water fund to the project to cover extra expenses and provide a 10 percent contingency.

The City Council also recommended that Elk Valley Rancheria select Santa Rosa-based Farr Construction to complete the first phase of the project. According to Olson, Elk Valley Rancheria received three bids for the project. Farr Construction’s proposal was the lowest bid at $267,700, according to the city’s staff report.

“They’re administering the grant and the contract,” Olson said, referring to Elk Valley Rancheria. “We’ll be acting as their construction manager to build the project. The final product will be turned back over to the city. We’re not losing control of the tank or anything like that.”

The first phase of the Amador Tank rehabilitation project includes installing a new roof hatch, center vent, auxiliary vent, guardrails, a fall restraint system and new interior and exterior ladders. The project also includes minor repairs and a new coat of paint to the appurtenances around the tank, according to the city’s staff report.

According to Olson, the second phase of the Amador tank rehabilitation will cost about $1 million. The city will use money in its water fund and pair it with a second $200,000 grant Elk Valley Rancheria is pursuing from the Bureau of Reclamation, he said.

Elk Valley also plans to pursue a WaterSMART grant with the Bureau of Reclamation for $850,000, Olson said. This coupled with the second $200,000 Bureau of Reclamation grant can also go toward the restoration of the city’s second water storage tank near Washington Boulevard.

“The next steps are: Finish Phase 1, some safety modifications to Amador; Phase 2, completing the restoration of the Amador tank; and Phase 3 will be the construction-renovation of the Washington storage tank,” Olson said.

The Amador tank stores about 1.5 million gallons of water, according to City Manager Eric Wier. The tank near Washington Boulevard stores about 4 million gallons, he said. The loss of any of those tanks would negatively impact the city’s Insurance Services Office fire rating, Wier said.

“The city has a good rating,” he aid. “It’s a 4, if I’m remembering correctly, which is really low considering our fire department and water system. What this (project) would allow us to do is keep that.”

Future phases of the Amador tank rehabilitation project includes installing new walkways, piping and a foundation that’s seismically resistant and a cathodic protection system.

Other phases of the project include repairing the tank’s steel girders and a complete re-coating of the interior and exterior of the tank, according to the city’s staff report.

Documents:

• Amador tank rehabilitation project staff report

SHARE →