The Problem

The Lotus valley is a rural residential area of grassland and oak trees spanning about 40 sq. miles in the foothills of El Dorado County. This area is home to more than 500 households with property improvements worth <$200M. Most neighborhoods are accessed through a single, two lane road. There are no fire hydrants inside this area, including the local Fire Station (EDC Fire #74).

The Solution

Install a system of hydrants (wet standpipes) at strategic locations in the valley (see hydrant map)

Hydrants will be used to re-fill Fire engines and water tankers.
6 key locations have been identified and prioritized.
- Sites chosen based on population, traffic access pattern and distance from available hydrants.
The Lotus Fire Station is the first priority and will serve as a prototype for subsequent hydrant installations.

Design

Eldorado Irrigation District water is available for only one of the proposed hydrant sites. An agricultural irrigation ditch will be used as the water source for all other hydrants. At each hydrant installation:

The irrigation ditch will supply a 10,000 gal. water tank located next to and below the ditch.
Water from the tank will be piped to the hydrant located below the tank.
The location of each hydrant will allow a fire engine or tanker to be refilled without disrupting traffic flow.
Design details for each site will be reviewed and approved by EDC Fire.

Cost

Note: this project is scalable – each hydrant installation is a separate project.

Fixed costs for each site include the water storage tank and the hydrant pipe and valve.
Site specific costs include site prep, length of pipe, cost of easement, road improvements.
Ditch reliability and efficiency improvements are included as part of each project.

A first draft cost estimate has been competed (Dec 2021). The hydrant installation at Fire Station #74 is estimated to cost approx. $68K while the entire project of 6 hydrants will cost approx. $280K. A final cost estimate will be completed after a funding agency is identified and construction standards are finalized.

Status

The Eldorado Fire Safe Council is sponsoring this initiative in partnership with the CL Ditch Users Association
All local stake holders support this Initiative.
- EDC Fire, Cal Fire, Fire Safe Council, Coloma Lotus Advisory Committee, District 4 County Supervisor, CLDUA, land owners for 4 sites (others haven’t been contacted at this time).
Grant proposal is under development.

For more information please contact:

Bob Hansen – Coloma Lotus Fire Hydrant Initiative lead
530 521-8061
bob.hansen@cldua.org