Rebuilding After the Redwood Complex Fire

County of Mendocino hosted a Town Hall meeting on Thursday October 11th, in Redwood Valley, with the key topics of water system improvements and a planned water system replacement project. This meeting was to inform and address any questions from residents about the Redwood Valley County Water District infrastructure project specifically residents served by Redwood Valley County Water District. The project has been completely funded by state and federal disaster relief funds. The allotted funds will be used to upsize existing water lines and create loops where dead ends exist. The improvements will cover about 4-miles; with 3-miles being replacement and 1-mile of new installation. This will update current water lines by creating enough pressure and flow to support fire sprinklers which are required under the building code, Title 24. The current water infrastructure was developed prior to some of the safety requirements required under California’s new building code. The funding will cover all costs of the public right of way improvements.

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What does this mean for property owners? 

The project is still in the preliminary phase and is expected to break ground in 2020. The Project and this blog only pertain to property owners that are within the service area of the Redwood Valley County Water District. The project will replace the water main in the street and upsize laterals to 1” if needed. One of the most common questions from community members and victims of the fire was, “what am I going to be expected to do?” There are two easily obtainable options to rebuilding.

Option A: The property owner can choose to upgrade the lateral to 1”, if it is not already, from the property line to the building connection. If choosing this option, the home owner will not receive a certificate of occupancy if the public improvements have not been completed. The reason for this is the required fire sprinkler system is anticipated to be non-operational or have unsupported flows until the public improvements are constructed. 

Option B: The property owner can purchase a water tank and booster pump to supply the fire sprinkler system. If a home owner chooses option B, they will not be required to upgrade the water lateral as long as they have an adequate tank and booster pump supplying the sprinkler system. Option B is an alternative which will allow home owners to gain occupancy of their homes prior to improvements being installed in their area. After installation of water system improvements are completed, the home owner will have the option of staying with the tank and pump or connecting to the new 1” water lateral. 

The goal of this project is to ensure all new fire rebuilds will have adequate flow and pressure to support the required fire sprinkler system. The County will support this goal by expediting permitting for fire rebuilds. The County’s staff is aiming to be able to approve permits within 1 to 2 weeks. 

Final inspection

While there are some exemptions covered in Title 25 that cover manufactured homes or class K housing, a final inspection will not be performed until the water system is updated. This means you will have a system in place that will be adequate enough to support your design fire sprinkler system. Again, this is done by either upsizing the connection or having a supplemental tank and pump feeding the sprinkler system only.

Planning your rebuild project

The BC Engineering Group staff has developed numerous fire rebuild plan sets and can guide you through every step of the rebuild permitting process. As a leading civil engineering design firm, feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have regarding your fire rebuild project. Take advantage of our experience and contact us today for your land development needs, we are here to help.

For more information on Redwood Valley Water District Reconstruction and Improvement Plan, fire rebuild permitting, or other land planning services, please contact us at 707-542-4321, or find us on Facebook and LinkedIn. You can also stay up to date with civil engineering and land planning issues by subscribing to our blog.