The sound of construction equipment echoed through the quiet streets of south Salinas as excavation work proceeded along Park Street and a section of Archer Street earlier this month. Part of California Water Service’s (Cal Water) extensive program of infrastructure upgrades currently underway, the crew was in the process of replacing a section of the approximately 350 miles of water mainline responsible for transporting potable water within the city’s municipal water distribution system with 1,871 feet of new 8-inch water main. The mainline replacement project, which includes swapping out old fire hydrants as well, began earlier this summer, according to Cal Water, and is important for water quality and fire prevention by preventing failure of aging and high-risk pipelines.