Hi Desert Water District General Manager Paul Peschel sat down with Gary Daigneault on the Z107.7 Up Close show Friday (September 24) to discuss current and ongoing water district activities, including replacing aging infrastructure, monitoring local water levels, and long-term plans to ensure a safe and steady community water supply for the next 25-60 years. The main topic of the show was updates on the deadlines for each phase of the Yucca Valley sewer project.
“Originally there were three phases [to the project]. The first phase has a completion requirement of December, 2023, but it may end up being sooner because we [the water district] are in the last stages [of that phase]. So that phase, with hookups, could be done as early as a year out. Phases two and three have been combined into a final phase and currently there are two potential deadlines for that: the end of 2028 or 2031, and that’s dependent upon whether the [Western] Joshua Tree is listed [as an endangered species]. We really don’t know what that’s going to do to our schedule.”
Peschel went on the say that grant opportunities are available to some single-family homeowners to help offset the cost of removing or transplanting Joshua Trees as well as a loan program for qualified residents to assist with the sewer connection itself. For questions, contact district funding representative Ryan Hutchins at 760-228-6279. To hear this full episode of the Up Close Show, follow the “Special Programing” link at z1077fm.com.
