Page Mill Fire Hydrant Project - Los Altos Hills County Fire District and City of Palo Alto, CA
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Tasked with providing fire protection to the exclusive community of Los Altos Hills, the Los Altos Hills County Fire District (LAHCFD) often finds itself balancing the preservation of the Town’s rural atmosphere with the need to protect some of the most expensive residential houses in the Bay Area.
Serving as District Engineers for the LAHCFD, Pakpour Consulting Group assisted in identifying areas in need of additional fire protection. One such area was the upper Page Mill ridge, which separates the City of Palo Alto’s (CPA) Foothill Park and the Town of Los Altos Hills. This area lacked fire protection and prone to brush fires due its location on top of a ridge and proximity to dry grass and heavy brush cover. The fire hydrants for the LAHCFD are typically connected to water mains owned by the Purissima Hills Water District or California Water Service Company. However this ridge was located above the service area of both water agencies.
Pakpour Consulting Group developed a novel solution in which the LAHCFD would upgrade the water mains within CPA’s foothill park and install fire hydrants. However since these facilities were located within the CPA, they would become part of the CPA’s distribution system after project completion.
Pakpour Consulting Group served as lead design engineer and led the effort in developing a cooperative agreement between the LAHCFD and the CPA in which approximately 4,200 feet of 6 and 8-inch AC water main within the CPA’s distribution system was upgraded to 8 and 10-inch DIP. The project also included installation of five fire hydrants along Page Mill Road and Foothill Park. The design team worked closely with park staff to map existing vegetation and took measures to reduce the overall impact and footprint of the project. Pakpour Consulting Group incorporated mitigation measures into the design documents ensuring stakeholders the park would be restored to its previous condition. In some cases the contractor was required to remove non-native grasses along the construction corridor and re-plant native vegetation. This early buy in by all stakeholders, facilitated by the design team, ensured the project was constructed on schedule with minimal impact. Horizontal directionally drilled (HDD) construction was used in areas where impact to the environment was deemed to be extensive. A total of 830 feet of 10-inch water main was installed using HDD.
