The replacement of the aging Vic Trace Reservoir atop Santa Barbara’s Mesa has reached the final design stage, with City Council signing off on Tuesday for $5.5 million to Kennedy Jenks Consultants for those services. The remaining environmental work by Rincon Consultants was also approved — $104,000 — prior to removing the aging, 10-million-gallon water tank and replacing it with two 5-million-gallon underground tanks.
The giant tank is partially buried on La Viera Hill, occupying a 15-acre site now surrounded by homes. Though largely out of sight, the reservoir supplies 70 percent of the city with water at a consumption rate of about 10 million gallons a day, said Joshua Haggmark, who runs the city’s water department. Pipes under La Coronilla and Dolores will be replaced as part of the project, which is due to be completed by about 2031, said Kelly Bourque, project senior engineer. The total project cost of $131 million is to come from low-interest loans for water projects and municipal bonds.
Installed in 1952, the reservoir takes its name from Victor Trace, appointed the city’s water superintendent in 1900 by Mayor Charles A. Storke. During his time, Trace oversaw enormous projects like the building of the Gibraltar reservoir and the carving of the Mission Tunnel through the mountains. His tenure ended in 1935 during the tumultuous times of Mayor Edmund O. Hanson. Hanson fired Trace, other department heads, and the police chief, who Hanson had ordered to arrest the district attorney if necessary, as reported in the Morning Press.
[Click to zoom] Credit: Courtesy
The disturbance grew as the mayor asserted that he could command the police to put down “riots and tumults” while simultaneously saying “everything is under control,” according to an uncredited journalist: “Considerable confusion has prevailed in several departments, owing to novice employees being thrown in by the mayor, and the general nervousness which all employes [sic] feel over the unsettled state of affairs in all offices,” words that could describe some sectors of public service today.
Vic Trace, however, was instead named a consultant for his remaining lifetime, which ended with a heart attack in 1937. Hanson resigned after 18 months in office.
Newspaper clips were courtesy of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum and the city water department.
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