Temporary disruption to portion of loop road around Lake Montebello has begun.

Beginning today and continuing through the first week of April, a 100 foot section of Whitman Drive, on the northwest side of Lake Montebello, will be closed for installation of a 48-inch pipe which will be used to periodically drain the Montebello II Finished-Water Reservoir into Lake Montebello. This is part of a $40 million federally-mandated project to enclose our finished drinking water reservoir at the Montebello II facility. 

The temporary road closure will be just northeast of the Old Stone Gate House – the pyramidal structure adjacent to the lake. This will mean that continuous-loop recreation around the lake will be interrupted for this period. Normal walking, biking, jogging and disc golf activities will be permitted, just not in the work area and not as a continuous loop. 

The Montebello II project, on the west side of Hillen Road, began in December 2009 and was originally expected to be completed in October 2013. The project is now almost about 80 % complete and ahead of schedule! The project consists of construction of a 32 million gallon enclosed reservoir (tanks) replacing a former 20 million gallon concrete open finished-water reservoir. 

Public Works Director Alfred H. Foxx stated: “When completed, these tanks will not only protect our drinking water from potential outside contaminants, but will also enable us to provide for future population growth.”