The Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District granted strips of land to the Calleguas Municipal Water District earlier this month so that the water purveyor can upgrade aging equipment at Corriganville Park.

Ed Hayduk, assistant general manager for Rancho Simi, called the water district’s project “a big deal” since the pipeline at Corriganville functions as the primary pathway for bringing water into Calleguas’ entire service area.

“It’s an important project for the whole community because it’s their water source,” Hayduk said.

The water district already has several existing easements and rights within the boundaries of Corriganville, the 206-acre park off Kuehner Drive that’s a popular destination for Hollywood film crews.

Calleguas requested the land from the park district in order to start work on its $1.5-million Conduit Flow Control Facilities Improvement Project. The water purveyor has 51-inch and 78-inch conduits, or pipes, near the Santa Susana Tunnel that carry the water into the area.

“All of the water for Calleguas Municipal Water District—which wholesales water to Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Oxnard and Port Hueneme—comes through that location,” said Susan Mulligan, manager of engineering for Calleguas.

Currently, Calleguas uses sliding panels to shut off water flow in the pipes when it needs to do maintenance work or there is a pipeline break. But these stop logs are old and leak water into the closed off section of the pipe, she said, so the water district will be replacing them with two buried isolation valves.

It took nine months to draw up the easement agreement, which the park district’s board of directors approved at its Jan. 7 meeting. Calleguas’ board approved the same agreement Jan. 6.

The agreement grants Calleguas a permanent easement for its new facilities, which are located on the south side of the railroad tracks, and temporary construction easements for staging and an access road during construction.

Once the project is complete, Calleguas will give back to the district the existing easement areas within the park that are no longer needed and three small parcels of property Calleguas currently owns.

Although hikers and bikers will notice the construction, Hayduk said, the project is in such an isolated location that it wouldn’t impede their enjoyment of the park or its trails.