"Streets will be fully open to all traffic at night and on weekends." That line comes from the Carmel Area Wastewater District's July 22, 2026 presentation to Carmel Woods residents, and it says a lot about the job ahead. The Carmel Woods and Pescadero Road Sewer Main Rehabilitation Project will replace or reline about three miles of old clay pipe under the neighborhood. Most of that work is planned to happen without opening long trenches down each block. On most streets, the disruption shows up in smaller ways: a parking ban, one eight-hour stretch when the district asks you to hold off on using your sewer, and a single 24-hour closure at the end when the street is repaved.
The Pipe Leaves the Hillside
The biggest physical change is on Pescadero Road. Right now, wastewater from the upper part of Carmel Woods runs through a sewer main on the hillside behind the homes on Pescadero Road. In its May 2026 environmental document, the district describes that hillside pipe as about 80 years old, damaged by falling trees, hard to reach, and the source of several spills and frequent maintenance.
The fix sends that flow somewhere else. A new sewer main will run under Pescadero Road itself and carry the upper Carmel Woods flow. The old hillside pipe will be slip-lined and will then serve only the homes along Pescadero Road. CAWD's project page says the rebuilt system will keep running on gravity and that no homeowner will need to install an ejector pump.
Moving that flow off the hillside is why Pescadero Road, Lincoln Street, 2nd Avenue and Monte Verde Street see the most digging in the plan. It's also why the only planned tree removals are there. The environmental document proposes taking out two Monterey pines on the south shoulder of Pescadero Road and says no other tree removal is proposed.
Inside Carmel Woods, Most of the Work Stays Underground
The Carmel Woods part of the project covers about 14,850 linear feet of deteriorated 6-inch vitrified-clay sewer. The streets on the list are Camino Del Monte, San Juan Road, San Marcos Road, San Lucas Road, Portola Avenue, San Luis Road, South San Luis Road, San Pedro Lane, San Mateo Avenue and Carpenter Street. The work also reaches State Route 1.
The construction method on each segment decides what you will see outside your door.
| Where | Method in the plan | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Carmel Woods streets | Pipe bursting where feasible | Most of the roughly 3 miles |
| Carmel Woods streets | Cured-in-place or fold-and-form lining | About 2,300 feet |
| Carmel Woods streets | Short open-trench sections | Realignments, spots where bursting is difficult, some fittings |
| Pescadero Road | New 10-inch gravity main | About 2,325 feet, 13 manholes |
| Pescadero Road and Lincoln St./2nd Ave. | Open trench | Manhole N616 to N618, and the Lincoln/2nd segment |
| Hillside behind Pescadero Road | Slip-lining | About 2,200 feet |
Pipe bursting is the method you saw in the district's own presentation photo from Mission Street. The equipment list in the environmental document shows how it works: a winch or pulling unit with a cable and a bursting head, plus machines that fuse plastic pipe together. The crew is small, too. The document assumes no more than eight construction workers on site at a time and about eight trips a day for workers and equipment. The primary staging area for storing and refueling equipment will be at the district's treatment plant, with additional staging inside the public right of way at the work sites.
Your Household's Version of the Project
Because the work moves in short sections, each home deals with it for a limited time, and the experience follows a fairly set order. Based on CAWD's July presentations and the environmental document, here is what a typical household can expect.
- Advance notice. The district says residents will be told ahead of time when their block is affected, through mail, email and door hangers.
- No street parking. In active construction areas, street parking won't be allowed, day or night. You keep access to your driveway.
- Daytime detours. In Carmel Woods, traffic will be sent around the work through 1st Avenue, Dolores Street and Castro Lane. At the end of each workday, open excavations will be covered with steel plates and the road reopened.
- The lateral connection. For about eight hours, crews will connect house laterals to the new pipe. CAWD asks residents not to use their sewer during that window if they can avoid it. The district also says you can still use your facilities if you need to, and the crew will handle the flow at the other end of the pipe.
- Trash day stays the same. The district says it will schedule work around trash collection so pickup doesn't lapse.
- The resurfacing day. The final repaving needs a 24-hour closure to all vehicles, residents included. In the whole sequence, this is the only time you won't be able to drive your car out.
Emergency services keep priority over construction throughout. In the presentation, the district says response capacity won't be reduced. On work hours, the environmental document cites the City's rule against Class B construction noise between 6:30 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Pescadero Road follows the same pattern but with more trenching. The environmental document expects intermittent closures to through traffic on Pescadero Road, Lincoln Street and Monte Verde Street during working hours, and possibly full closures around active open trenches. Residents' access to their homes is to be kept open at all times. The July 15 Pescadero presentation says Pescadero laterals will be reconnected to the slip-lined pipe as part of the project, and it promises complete repaving, with leveling where needed.
Sixteen Months, and a Start Date That Has Already Moved
The environmental document estimates 16 months of construction in total. That breaks down as about two months of mobilization and site preparation, twelve months of pipeline work, and two months of restoration. The contractor sets the exact order. So the paving at the end of the job, the 24-hour closure in step six, falls in the last phase of a schedule that runs well past a year.
The start date has already moved twice. In May 2026, the environmental document expected construction to begin in fall 2026. The July 22 presentation said December 2026. The district's latest materials point to January 2027, which is the start date in its homeowner questionnaire and in its August project summary. CAWD set its bid opening for 10 a.m. on October 23, 2026, at the district office at 3945 Rio Road. Until a contract is signed, January is the district's best current estimate, not a fixed date.
The money is already committed. A July 30, 2026 staff report shows $3,600,000 for the project in the district's fiscal 2026–27 budget. The August project summary lists a cumulative budget of $4,212,508, with $845,300 spent so far. Board minutes in the September 24, 2026 board packet record a unanimous vote to invite construction bids. They also record a 3–1 vote approving a contract of up to $185,000 with TBC Communications to handle public relations for the project.
What the District Is Asking of Homeowners Now
Before any work starts, CAWD wants to know which households need special arrangements. Its online questionnaire asks whether anyone in the home has an accessible parking permit, uses a transportation service, has a caretaker, gets medical deliveries or regular visits from medical professionals, or receives regular food deliveries. It also asks whether the asphalt on your block has major potholes or buckling from tree roots, and whether there are dead trees or brush in the public right of way. The district says the answers are kept confidential. The July presentation also mentions planned construction or events at your home as something worth reporting, which matters for anyone who has a remodel or a family gathering on the calendar this winter.
There's one more detail to know about laterals. The Pescadero presentation states that homeowners own their lateral up to the point where it connects to CAWD's main. The project's published materials don't address any charge to homeowners for private-side lateral or cleanout work beyond the reconnections built into the job. Questions about your own property belong with the district. This is general information and not legal or financial advice, so please confirm your situation with CAWD or the right professional.
Questions go to Principal Engineer Jeff Bandy, Ph.D., P.E., at (831) 257-0436 or [email protected]. Once construction starts, a project hotline number will be posted on signs at the work sites.
If you're planning work on your home, a sale, or a move in or out of Carmel Woods during the construction window, the timing of your block's parking ban and resurfacing day can affect those plans. The Bambace Peterson Team follows this project street by street and is glad to help you plan around it. Contact Us.
