Input sought on Redwood Shores waste pipe

Water authority officials are scouting locations for a wastewater pipe beneath Redwood Shores and are looking for public feedback in the process.

The pipe’s purpose is to link the San Carlos Pump Station to the Silicon Valley Clean Water facility near the tip of the Redwood Shores peninsula. It will transport wastewater about three miles.

Construction of the wastewater pipe under Redwood Shores Parkway is expected to cause extended traffic disruption.

It could also interfere with utilities already under the parkway, but is expected to have minimal environmental impact, according to Dan Child, manager of Silicon Valley Clean Water.

Project officials have been reviewing potential routes under other major roadways through the Steinberger Slough levee and in the central lagoon. Child told the Ex:

“The majority [of the pipe] is through a highly populated residential area and it’s extremely challenging because you’re dealing with people’s day-to-day lives going through a neighborhood.”

The $60 million project would take three to four years to complete.

Child noted that there are other possible alternatives such as laying the pipe near waterfront properties. This would avoid street excavation, but potentially damage a fragile ecosystem.

The existing concrete pipe has joints every 12 feet and is vulnerable to stress and breakage, officials said. It has suffered 64 leaks since its construction in 1969. The rate of new leaks has increased recently.

The new pipe is 63 inches in diameter and is made of more durable materials. It has has no joints, making it less susceptible to leakage.