Facilities and Operations

News on the processes, people, and places working to deliver a safe and reliable wholesale water supply to the San Diego region’s 24 member water agencies.

The $24 million Pipeline 5 Relining Project in Fallbrook is expected to conclude in summer 2019. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Pipeline Upgrades Coming to Fallbrook in Fall 2018

May 18, 2018/in Facilities & Operations /by Mike Leeby Water News Network staff

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 […]

Once the liners are installed, they are welded together, grout is injected to fill the space between the liners and the original pipe, and cement mortar is applied on the inside of the steel liner. Photo: SDCWA

Innovative Relining Program Reduces Cost, Extends Pipeline Service Life

May 8, 2018/in Facilities & Operations, News /by Gayle Falkenthalby Nathan Faber, O&M Manager; Neena Kuzmich, P.E., Principal Engineer; and Colin Kemper, Engineer P.E., San Diego County Water Authority

When the San Diego County Water Authority installed major sections of 66- to 96-inch diameter pipelines in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s, the regional water wholesale agency used cost-saving pipeline material – a combination of steel wires, thin steel pipe, and concrete widely known as Pre-Stressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP). Decades later, agencies around […]