Shasta Lake's New 2.45 Million Gallon Centimudi Water Tank Nears Service

The City of Shasta Lake is preparing to put its new 2.45 million gallon Centimudi Water Storage Tank into service, a major infrastructure project designed to increase water storage, improve system reliability and strengthen fire protection for the community.

City officials recently shared a look at the massive new tank and said the next major step is filling it with water.

The project has been years in the making and addresses a water storage problem identified well before construction began.

Why Shasta Lake needed more water storage

The City's 2016 to 2026 Water Master Plan identified a citywide treated water storage deficit of approximately 680,000 gallons, with the shortage expected to increase over time.

The risk became especially clear during the Carr Fire in 2018. According to City planning documents, firefighters drew large amounts of water from hydrants within the City's service area while residents preparing to evacuate also ran sprinkler systems around their properties.

Several water tanks were drawn nearly empty. City documents said that if the fire had continued north into Shasta Lake, there was a significant concern that there might not have been enough stored water available to adequately fight the fire within the city.

The Centimudi project was ultimately selected as a high priority project to address that vulnerability.

A 2.45 million gallon tank

The new Centimudi tank is a 2.45 million gallon prestressed concrete finished water storage tank. The project also includes piping and other infrastructure needed to connect the tank with the existing water system.

The site was selected in part because it is close to the City's water treatment plant and Lake Boulevard, where a major transmission line carries treated water into Shasta Lake.

The additional storage is expected to give the City's water system substantially more reserve capacity during emergencies, including wildfires and other situations when water demand can suddenly increase.

Shasta Lake currently provides water service to approximately 3,800 accounts through roughly 60 miles of pipeline. The City's water treatment plant is capable of distributing about 9.72 million gallons of treated water per day.

Grant funding helped make the project possible

The City says the Centimudi tank project is grant funded, preventing the major infrastructure investment from falling entirely on local water customers.

City records show more than $6.3 million in grant funding was secured for construction of the Centimudi water tank. The project is associated with Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding connected to infrastructure recovery and resilience following the Carr Fire.

The City's original construction bid documents estimated the project at approximately $5.59 million before construction.

The construction project includes the tank itself along with site preparation, earthwork, trenching, water piping, a driveway, security fencing, overflow infrastructure and related improvements.

Part of a larger water system upgrade

The Centimudi tank is also connected to another major change planned for Shasta Lake's water system.

Once the new finished water storage tank is placed into service, the City plans to eventually remove two older finished water tanks at the water treatment plant that have reached or exceeded their useful service lives. A separate project calls for construction of a much larger raw water storage tank at the treatment plant.

Together, the projects are intended to improve the amount of water available during emergencies and strengthen the reliability of the City's water infrastructure for years to come.

For residents of Shasta Lake, the Centimudi tank represents considerably more than a large structure beside the road. Its 2.45 million gallons of additional finished water storage could become especially important during the type of wildfire emergency that first demonstrated just how quickly a community's stored water supply can be depleted.

Learn more about the City of Shasta Lake's disaster recovery and mitigation projects

View City information about Shasta Lake's water system