NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
Calleguas Municipal Water District
2100 Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Calleguas Municipal Water District ("Calleguas") has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) for the Smith Road Tank (herein referred to as the "Proposed Project"). Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines (14 Calif. Code of Regs., §15000 et seq.), this notice contains a brief description of the Proposed Project and its location, the anticipated significant environmental effects of the Proposed Project, details on the availability of the Draft EIR prepared for the Proposed Project, the time and location of the public meetings, and the period during which comments will be received.
Project Title: Smith Road Tank
Project Location: The project site is located on an approximately 4-acre undeveloped, unoccupied parcel (Assessor's Parcel Number 657-0-020-230) at the northeast corner of the intersection of Kuehner Drive and Smith Road, in the eastern portion of the City of Simi Valley in Ventura County.
Project Background: Calleguas's 2017 Potable Water Master Plan identified a need for additional water storage capacity to meet peak hourly demands in the eastern Simi Valley/Santa Susana area during imported water supply outage conditions and to provide operational benefits during normal and high-demand conditions. To identify potential locations for the Proposed Project, a site selection study was conducted in 2018 that assessed six potential sites. Calleguas concluded that the project site, on the northeast corner of the intersection of Kuehner Drive and Smith Road, was the most suitable project location due to its close proximity to the Calleguas Conduit North Branch (CCNB) and Calleguas Conduit South Branch (CCSB) pipelines, relatively shorter construction period, and absence of known environmental sensitivities.
Brief Project Description: The Proposed Project includes the construction and operation of a 43-foot-tall by approximately 125-foot-diameter above-ground steel water storage tank with a total storage capacity of approximately 3.5 million gallons. The tank would connect to the CCSB and CCNB pipelines located beneath Smith Road, directly south of the project site.
The Proposed Project's objectives are to provide additional water storage capacity to meet the peak hourly demands in the Simi Valley Region during short-term imported water supply outage conditions; provide operational benefits during normal and high-demand conditions; provide a reserve of water that can be used during supply interruptions, such as maintenance work, power outages, or natural disasters; help maintain consistent water pressure throughout the distribution system; and in case of emergencies, such as fires, provide an immediate source of water for firefighting and other critical needs.
The tank would be constructed on top of an elevated pad, which would be created with imported fill material to reach a ground elevation of approximately 1,096 feet above mean sea level (AMSL), or approximately 35 feet above the existing ground surface, allowing the tank to operate by gravity without pumping. The Proposed Project would also include the construction and maintenance of inlet and outlet pipelines, pipeline connections, overflow and drain pipes, above-ground isolation valves, a paved access road with a driveway off of Smith Road, retaining walls, and cabinet(s) housing instrumentation and control components. An approximately 700-foot-long Southern California Edison (SCE) service line would be required from the SCE connection location to the tank.
Significant Environmental Effects: The Draft EIR identified significant and unavoidable impacts related to aesthetics. The Draft EIR also identified significant impacts related to biological resources, cultural resources, hazards and hazardous materials, noise, and tribal cultural resources; however, these impacts would be reduced to less-than-significant levels through the incorporation of the proposed mitigation measures. All other environmental impacts would be less than significant.
Availability of the Draft EIR: The Draft EIR is available for public review at https://www.calleguas.com/transparency/environmental-documents/. A hard copy can be viewed during business hours at Calleguas Municipal Water District (2100 Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360) and the Simi Valley Public Library (2969 Tapo Canyon Road, Simi Valley, CA 93063).
Public Meetings: These meetings serve as an open forum for community members to learn about the Proposed Project and share their feedback on the Draft EIR. Each meeting will feature a presentation covering the project overview and the environmental issues examined in the report. All oral and written comments submitted during the meetings and public review period will be compiled and addressed in the Final EIR. Two public meetings will be held as follows:
In-Person Public Meeting. Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at the Rancho Simi Activity Center, 4201 Guardian Street, Activity Center Room 3, Simi Valley, CA 93063.
Virtual Public Meeting. Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. Join the Zoom Meeting at http://bit.ly/4vf88iw and enter Passcode 641621;
or call (669) 444- 9171 then enter Webinar ID 833 2911 6855 and Passcode 641621.
45-Day Public Review Period: The Draft EIR is available for a 45-day public review period from Wednesday, June 24, 2026 to Tuesday, August 11, 2026. Written comments must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
Contact Person: Written comments may be submitted to Jennifer Lancaster, Manager of Water Resources, via email: jlancaster@calleguas.com.
June 25 2026
LYRK0543840
