San Lorenzo Valley residents concerned about leaking water tanks
Residents in San Lorenzo Valley are concerned that if aging water tanks that supply drinking water aren’t demolished, a disaster could occur in the mountains.”You could wash your nighttime dishes there, honey. It’s just water pours out of there,” said Paula Prekowitz, who has lived in Boulder Creek for 50 years. “The ground is saturated where the tanks are.”KSBW received a video from a neighbor showing how much the tanks overflowed. The video shows water gushing from the side of one of the Redwood tanks on Echo Lane.”They have just so many leaks, and it’s so rotten,” San Lorenzo Park resident Mark Solorzano said. “We go to bed at night, and it’s a fear in the back of our minds that we’re going to wake up at the bottom of the hill because the water tanks burst.”“The erosion of the hillsides when those tanks leak and the probability of them really causing damage if they should burst (is concerning),” Prekowitz said. Neighbors hope the San Lorenzo Valley Water District will remove the deteriorating tanks and temporarily replace them with the two nearby plastic tanks until a larger steel tank can be installed.Another major concern for residents is firefighting capabilities.”The fire district knows that it’s a hazard, and so does the water district,” Prekowitz said. “They know it’s a hazard, not having enough water to put out a fire.”The water district says it will replace the Redwood tanks on Echo Lane by spring 2026.In a statement, the San Lorenzo Valley Water District wrote, “The District is in the process of replacing the redwood tanks with steel bolted tanks and poly tanks. We are starting the replacement of some of these this spring. The Echo tanks are scheduled to be replaced in spring of 2026. Currently, we are only partially filling the redwood tanks to reduce the leaking. Unfortunately, the latest storm caused the tank to fill higher than normal. We are also looking at a solution with poly tanks, which we may be able to implement within the next month, but unfortunately, at this time, I need more information from our operations division.”They say there should be enough water for fire flow if needed by the fire department.
Residents in San Lorenzo Valley are concerned that if aging water tanks that supply drinking water aren’t demolished, a disaster could occur in the mountains.
“You could wash your nighttime dishes there, honey. It’s just water pours out of there,” said Paula Prekowitz, who has lived in Boulder Creek for 50 years. “The ground is saturated where the tanks are.”
KSBW received a video from a neighbor showing how much the tanks overflowed. The video shows water gushing from the side of one of the Redwood tanks on Echo Lane.
“They have just so many leaks, and it’s so rotten,” San Lorenzo Park resident Mark Solorzano said. “We go to bed at night, and it’s a fear in the back of our minds that we’re going to wake up at the bottom of the hill because the water tanks burst.”
“The erosion of the hillsides when those tanks leak and the probability of them really causing damage if they should burst (is concerning),” Prekowitz said.
Neighbors hope the San Lorenzo Valley Water District will remove the deteriorating tanks and temporarily replace them with the two nearby plastic tanks until a larger steel tank can be installed.
Another major concern for residents is firefighting capabilities.
“The fire district knows that it’s a hazard, and so does the water district,” Prekowitz said. “They know it’s a hazard, not having enough water to put out a fire.”
The water district says it will replace the Redwood tanks on Echo Lane by spring 2026.
In a statement, the San Lorenzo Valley Water District wrote, “The District is in the process of replacing the redwood tanks with steel bolted tanks and poly tanks. We are starting the replacement of some of these this spring. The Echo tanks are scheduled to be replaced in spring of 2026. Currently, we are only partially filling the redwood tanks to reduce the leaking. Unfortunately, the latest storm caused the tank to fill higher than normal. We are also looking at a solution with poly tanks, which we may be able to implement within the next month, but unfortunately, at this time, I need more information from our operations division.”
They say there should be enough water for fire flow if needed by the fire department.