City Showcase

Drought Developments

Manhattan Beach moves one step closer to water sustainability as it constructs a new Peck Reservoir

With the ongoing drought realities as well as the community’s push for best water conservation practices, the City of Manhattan Beach devised a plan in 2010 to address its aging reservoir and maintain a reliable and sustainable source of fresh water for residents for many years into the future.

Twelve years later, that plan is finally taking shape with the $34 million Peck Reservoir Replacement Project, funded by the city’s water enterprise funds. The project was the top priority of the city’s 2010 Water System Master Plan. It not only increases reservoir capacity by 500,000 gallons, but also substantially upgrades its 60-year-old utility infrastructure with state-of-the-art systems and equipment.

Construction on the new reservoir, located at the intersection of Peck Avenue and 19th Street, began in October 2020 and includes:

• A new 8-million-gallon potable water reservoir for operational, fire protection, and emergency storage

• A new pump station building with new efficient equipment that will transport water from the reservoir to the city’s water distribution system

• Replacement of the off-site groundwater well transmission pipeline

• A new groundwater treatment facility with a modern filtration system that enables greater use of the city’s local sources of drinking water These new facilities will help the city provide long-term dependability to residents and stakeholders.

“This project is an example of the city’s commitment to enhance existing facilities and use more groundwater,” said Manhattan Beach Mayor Steve Napolitano. “By utilizing more of the city’s groundwater, the city reduces the need to import water and ensures a steady water supply is readily available to service Manhattan Beach homes for drinking water and to utilize during an emergency.”

Manhattan Beach’s clean water is imported from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and from cityowned groundwater wells.

The Manhattan Beach City Council anticipates future cost savings by drawing more from local wells, which is typically more cost-efficient than importing water. ∙

It is estimated that construction will be near completion by winter 2022-2023, with the commissioning of the reservoir expected in March 2023. Additional information about the project can be found at manhattanbeach.gov/peckreservoirproject.

The 8-million-gallon reservoir’s cavernous interior is comprised of concrete columns and 2-foot-thick walls holding up the concrete roof slab, about the size of a football field.

The new partially buried facility will be visually buffered by landscaped retaining walls and earth berms. Native drought tolerant plants, shrubs and grasses will beautify the site, along with colorful blooming crepe myrtle trees along 19th Street and Peck Avenue.