Foothills Sentry August 2020

Page 3 Foothills Sentry August 2020 7540 E. Chapman Ave. Orange, CA 92869 (714) 639-9792 MEAT&DELI, PRODUCE, BAKERY, FRESH FISH, GIFT BASKETS, WINE MON-SUN: 8am - 8pm www.Paci�icRanchMarket.com $ OFF Excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. With coupon only. May not be combined with any other offer or discount. Limit one coupon per customer. Valid only at Paci�ic Ranch Market. When You Spend $25 or More * EXPIRES: 8/31/20 5 OC’s Premier ProduceMarket Photos by Tony Richards LOST CAT Delightful Friend Constant Companion “Mamas” is an indoor cat. She became lost from the Glen Arran Lane/Rancho Santiago area during the Santa Ana Winds on Sunday, June 6. Her collar and tracking device has pulled off. Breed: Russian Blue, with a silver-gray coat and gold eyes Weight: 12-15 pounds 4 years old   Spayed Microchip Name: Sterling Please! Help reunite us! We could all use a happy story! Contact: (657) 291-4596 with any & all information. Posted on NextDoor, Facebook, OC Lost & Found Pets Forum. Paid for by the Campaign of Ana Gutierrez for Orange City Council 2020 WWW.ANAFORORANGE.COM FPCC ID: 1426307 The heart of the water system serving Cowan Heights and Lem- on Heights, an aging two-million- gallon reservoir, is being refur- bished, refinished, refined and renewed to serve the community for another 40 or 50 years. The two quarter-million-gallon tanks now gracing the hill above Peacock Hill Drive are tempo- rary. They are holding water for residential customers until the underground reservoir is ready for service. That underground reservoir was built in the 1950s, when the area was rural and agricultural. As the community grew, demand for water increased, and the small local agencies managing and op- erating the system had a hard time keeping up. The rural systems of Cowan and Lemon Heights were sold to larger agencies, eventually taken over by Golden State Wa- ter Company: Cowan Heights in 1974, Lemon Heights in 1994. Water works Because the area topography is primarily hills, water is pumped up from a station on Newport Avenue to a series of reservoirs at higher and higher elevations. Water from on high is delivered to homeowner taps via gravity and pressure. The Peacock Reser- voir is not the highest, but it is the largest and the one most in need of upgrading. Cowan Heights water system gets an upgrade Golden State originally intend- ed to replace the underground reservoir with a massive above- ground tank. “We said absolutely not,” Bruce Junor, a reservoir neighbor, reports. “We said, 'we’re not going to have a huge tank looming over us. The tank is underground now, it can stay that way.'” Junor and other Golden State customers “held their ground” until a new Golden State manager came on board and took notice. Good to go “We wanted to do this right,” says General Manager Ken Vec- chiarelli, “and since we were going to be working up here anyway, we thought we should replace everything. Not just the tanks, but the piping, pumps, and backup generator.” Golden State also installed an automated mas- ter control center that monitors water levels, turns on the pumps when needed, and keeps engi- neers aware of the system’s status at all times. A new radio tower transmits the information 24/7. Golden State invested some $6.4 million in the Cowan Heights system. The reservoir work, which included crack re- pair, a new coating and a new roof, was $3.6 million; new pip- ing, $1.6 million. The new system is expected to be operational in September. The temporary tanks, however, will remain for another 12 months. “We’ll need to inspect the reser- voir in a year,” Vecchiarelli ex- plains, “which means we’ll have to drain it again and store the wa- ter in those tanks. If everything looks good, we’ll remove the temporary tanks then.” The next upgrade on the local system may be the tank at the top of the system on Timberline Lane. That one is thought to be about 100 years old. The reservoir on Peacock Hill Drive, with new surface coating, a new roof and upgraded pumps and piping is expected to be back on line in September. Mayor Robbie Pitts, left, and Mayor pro tem Crystal Miles, right, present a check to Billie O’Brien, owner of The Flowery in Villa Park. Billie was overcome with emotion, grateful for the financial assistance to help her 35-year-old business continue, after losing prom, gradua- tion and June wedding orders. The Villa Park COVID-19 Business Recovery Grant Pro- gram aided 17 area businesses, providing grants of up to $10,000 for selected applicants. The funds, totaling $147,000, were provided by the County of Orange. Those receiving grants includ- ed: Peak Performance Concepts, a 26-year-old mainstay in the VP boosts business with grants city; Coffee Grove of Villa Park, Club Pilates, GLO Nail Bar, Jew- elry Designs by Steven, Dunkin’, Mr. Best Cleaners, Rockwell’s Café & Bakery, The Flowery, The Strength Co., The Young Ameri- can Salon, Villa Park Optometry, Villa Park Smiles Orthodontics, The Hidden Jewel, Thumbs Up Video, David Otta Productions, and A-Plus Business, Inc. Cowan Heights resident Bruce Junor (left) and Golden State General Manager Ken Vecchiarelli tour the reservoir facility, six feet apart. Photos by Tony Richards