Groundbreaking at New CCWD Headquarters

     The Calaveras County Water District's (CCWD) Board of Directors and departing General Manager, Joone Lopez broke ground with golden shovels in the heat of the morning on Tuesday.

     The ceremony commenced the beginning of construction for CCWD's long awaited and much needed new Operations Headquarters building.  "The CCWD Board and staff have put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to get to this point, and today, all the hard work is paying off," said Board President Don Stump during Tuesday's ceremony.

     More than ten years ago, the District identified a need for a new building that ensured safety and accessibility for its customers and employees.

      Additionally, the new operations headquarters  will improve efficiency and productivity by integrating administration with operations and streamlining work flow, ultimately resulting in improved service.

     Many of the forty plus who were in attendance to celebrate the groundbreaking were local businesses working on the project.  They expressed their gratitude to the Board for using local business within Calaveras County as a priority and achieving an estimated 80 percent local participation.

    "This is why we took our time and went with internal financing rather than a loan from USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture)." said Director Jeff Davidson, who serves on the operations headquarters and ad hoc committee.  "The Board wanted to make sure that in doing the project we keep costs low and help the local economy."

     Simile Construction Service, Inc. was awarded the construction contract to design and build the new Operations Headquarters for CCWD.  Part of their contract includes utilizing the talents of local Calaveras County businesses.

   Completion is expected in mid-April of 2013.