San Diego, Calif. – A beauty shot of an East Count reservoir and a portrait of a young couple at Sunset Cliffs took the top prizes in the San Diego County Water Authority’s “Brought to You by Water” photo contest during Water Awareness Month in May.
Major construction activities have concluded at a pipeline relining project in La Mesa and Spring Valley, and the entire project is on track for completion by the end of June.
The Lake Murray to Sweetwater Reservoir Pipeline 3 Relining Project rehabilitated 4.3 miles of 66- and 69-inch diameter pipes, extending the pipeline’s service life by several decades and helping ensure continued water system reliability.
The timely success of the project underscores the value of collaboration by the Water Authority’s project team; public agency stakeholders such as the city of La Mesa and Helix Water District; and the contractor, L.H. Woods & Sons, Inc.
Construction began in September 2017. The bulk of the work was performed underground, through portals, which allow easy access to the pipe. This process is about half the cost of a conventional pipeline replacement project and is less disruptive to the environment and surrounding communities.
The 4.3-mile project is part of a larger effort by the Water Authority to rehabilitate 82 miles of its pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe installed between the early 1960s and 80s throughout the county. This type of pipe has been found to be less reliable than previously thought. In response, the Water Authority launched the Pipeline Relining Program to reinforce these pipes with steel liners, increasing their service life by 75 years or more.
With the last of the new steel liners installed, welded, grouted and lined with cement mortar, the remaining work includes site restoration – such as re-paving and re-striping roadways – and demobilizing.
With the completion of the Lake Murray to Sweetwater project, the Water Authority has rehabilitated more than half of its pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe.
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. – On May 30, 2018, the Santa Fe Irrigation District and the San Dieguito Water District celebrated the San Dieguito Reservoir Dam’s 100 year anniversary and the dedication of the new San Dieguito Reservoir Pump Station. Jointly owned by the Santa Fe Irrigation District and the San Dieguito Water District, the San Dieguito Reservoir Dam and the San Dieguito Pump Station are important assets providing local water for over 60,000 customers in the North Central Region of San Diego.
El Centro, Calif. – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda W. Burman delivered a sobering message about the risks facing the Colorado River system and the need for action considering long-term drought conditions during an Imperial Irrigation District Board meeting on May 22.
In her first presentation to the IID Board of Directors since her confirmation as commissioner in November, Burman said it’s time to restart the stalled basin-wide drought contingency planning talks to address the threat of shortage on the river. Her discussion was filled with stark predictions for the river system should drought conditions continue, along with hopeful notes that worst-case shortage scenarios could be averted through conservation efforts.
Terry Fulp, the bureau’s regional director of the Lower Colorado River Basin, joined Burman at the IID meeting. Fulp said Lake Mead and Lake Powell – which provide storage for the Lower Basin states of Nevada, Arizona and California – are about 51 percent full.
Both lakes were near capacity in 1999, then dropped by half in just five years. That sudden loss of storage led to the development of the interim guidelines for managing a shortage on the river in 2007. In the years since, Fulp said, the river system has met demands despite the ongoing drought.
However, a shortage declaration may be triggered in the next two years because Lake Mead is barely over 1075 feet above sea level, the point at which a shortage could be declared. Fulp said Lake Mead would likely already be below the 1075-foot mark if not for conservation efforts across the Colorado River Basin.
Burman said she recognizes that drought contingency discussions have “fallen off,” but she said they need to start again with the goal of expanding conservation efforts throughout the river system. She said actions taken now will benefit water users today and serve the needs of the river system decades into the future, just as water users today benefit from the actions of the pioneers who built the system under the Boulder Canyon Act of 1928
“There absolutely needs to be action on the Colorado River,” she said. “The risk is too great.”
Under questioning from IID board members, Burman said “there is room” in drought contingency discussions to include additional storage for IID in Lake Mead (which IID has advocated for), and there could be flexibility in how that storage water is created.
When pressed on the Salton Sea, Burman said a memorandum of understanding between the state and federal governments remains in effect to address issues at the sea. She added that the federal government remains committed to the MOU even though the state is leading ongoing Salton Sea restoration efforts.
Burman said time will tell if drought contingency talks restart and whether agencies can reach agreement on the critical issues related to conservation and storage. To the extent that there is additional water conservation in the Imperial Valley, that likely would reduce flows to the Salton Sea – and that in turn would raise important questions about how reduced inflows would be mitigated to minimize impacts on sea levels.
San Diego, Calif. – The regional chapter of the American Public Works Association today conferred two Project of the Year awards on the San Diego County Water Authority for a pipeline upgrade in Scripps Ranch and a rebuilt pump station near Miramar Reservoir, both of which will help ensure reliable water deliveries across the San Diego region.
San Diego, Calif. – Business, civic, and water industry officials from across San Diego County have joined forces to oppose a proposed $135 million per year tax on drinking water in California that would harm ratepayers and likely result in a flood of additional taxes on the state’s most precious natural resource.
A coalition of business, civic and water industry officials from across San Diego County has joined forces to oppose a proposed $135 million per year tax on drinking water in California that would harm ratepayers and likely result in a flood of additional taxes on the state’s most precious natural resource.
During a news conference this morning at the County Administration Center, regional leaders offered other funding solutions to improve water quality in poor, rural areas of the state without adding another tax burden to residents in one of the nation’s most expensive states.
Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, chairwoman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, joined officials from the San Diego County Water Authority and several of its member agencies, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, the Industrial Environmental Association, and several other groups. In all, more than 30 agencies and organizations across the region have signed a letter to legislative leaders opposing the drinking water tax plan.
Encinitas City Councilmember Mark Muir, chair of the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors and a member of the San Dieguito Water District Board, warned that the current water tax proposal would set a dangerous precedent. “It would be the camel’s nose under the tent; what begins as a modest increase could quickly grow larger and larger as more projects and programs try to get into the tent,” he said. “We’ve already seen proposals in Sacramento that could add more than $15 a month to residential water bills.”
The tax proposal is being advanced through Senate Bill 623 by state Sen. William Monning (Carmel) and a Brown Administration budget trailer bill related to safe drinking water. The drinking water tax would initially raise about $135 million a year to help provide clean, safe water in disadvantaged communities, mostly in the Central and Salinas valleys, where groundwater has been contaminated by farming operations. In addition, approximately $22 million would be generated by a tax on fertilizer and confined dairy facilities. State legislators are expected to vote on the tax by mid-June, though the issue could extend into late summer.
San Marcos, Calif. – The Vallecitos Water District received the District Transparency Certificate of Excellence by the Special District Leadership Foundation (SDLF) in recognition of its outstanding efforts to promote transparency and good governance. California SDLF Public Affairs Field Coordinator Chris Palmer and California SDLF Board Member Jo MacKenzie were on hand to recognize Vallecitos for completing the essential requirements.
A major water pipeline that runs through rural North County is getting the water industry’s version of a makeover.
The San Diego County Water Authority plans to start relining one of its regional wholesale water pipelines in fall 2018, extending its service life by more than 75 years. Construction is expected to last about one year, and most of the $24 million project will take place underground with few impacts to nearby residents.
Relining projects rehabilitate segments of pipelines based on their age and the need for improvements. Proactive assessments help the Water Authority avoid pipeline failures by identifying potential risks before they cause problems.
The Pipeline 5 Relining Project involves upgrading approximately 2.3 miles of pipeline in eight segments along a 9.5-mile stretch of pipeline that runs through Fallbrook. The Water Authority’s project team hosted an open house for residents and answered their questions at the Fallbrook Library on May 1.
Additional community presentations are set for May 21 at the Bonsall Chamber of Commerce, May 22 at the Rainbow Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors meeting, and the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, and June 18 at the Fallbrook Planning Group.
The Water Authority manages 310 miles of large-diameter pipeline to convey water throughout San Diego County. Approximately 82 miles of these pipelines were installed between the early 1960s and late 1980s. These pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipes (PCCP) are made from a combination of steel and concrete.
First used during World War II to help minimize the use of steel, this pipeline type is used extensively around the world. Numerous failures in similar pipes nationwide prompted the Water Authority to take proactive measures to reinforce its PCCP pipelines with steel liners starting in the early 1990s.
Proactive assessments help the Water Authority avoid pipeline failures by identifying potential risks before they cause problems. To date, the Asset Management Program has saved water ratepayers more than $200 million by prioritizing repairs, avoiding unnecessary work and maximizing the service life of the region’s large-diameter water conveyance system, which includes pipelines ranging in diameter from 20 inches to 9 feet.
Water Authority construction crews will conduct most of the work underground, inside the pipe. They will access the pipe by excavating, establishing, and entering the pipeline through nine access sites, or portals. The portals are excavated pits 25-feet wide by 60-feet long and spaced roughly 525 to 2,500 feet apart. At each portal site, 40 feet of existing pipe is removed to permit access inside the pipe.
Work isn’t active at all portals at the same time; crews will shift from one portal to another. Much of the work associated with the project will be within public street rights-of-way.
When the project is finished, the Water Authority will have rehabilitated approximately 47 miles of the 82.5 miles of PCCP in its system.
More information about the Fallbrook project, including details about upcoming meetings is on the Water Authority’s project webpage.
San Diego, Calif. – Water rate increases proposed by the San Diego County Water Authority staff for 2019 are among the smallest in the past 15 years due to financial benefits secured through litigation against the Los Angeles-baed Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Water Authority’s planned use of its Rate Stabilization Fund.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
