This year’s changes to the Clean Water Act have made the already-challenging work of scientists and engineers in water planning and management exponentially more difficult.
In 2019, the San Diego County Water Authority repaired a leak to a pipeline in Moosa Canyon. That repair was followed by an assessment of the other two SDCWA pipelines in the area, and one of those was found to be at risk so the CWA will be making repairs to that pipeline.
A CWA board vote, Feb. 27, authorized CWA general manager Sandra Kerl to take the necessary contracting and other actions for the repairs on Pipeline 5 in Moosa Creek. The current schedule includes shutdowns March 30 through April 5 for the installation of isolation bulkheads and May 18 to May 24 for the removal of the bulkheads as well as carbon fiber lining work expected April 6 through May 15.
May 24 is the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, and the actual shutdown schedule will likely be revised as the repair work progresses.
InfraTerra Inc. has been awarded a contract to provide seismic vulnerability assessments and repair time estimates for San Diego County Water Authority pipelines.
A unanimous SDCWA board vote, Jan. 23, authorized the award of a $724,939 contract for InfraTerra to perform the work. The study is expected to be complete during summer 2021.
The CWA has five large-diameter pipelines with prestressed concrete cylinder, reinforced concrete and welded steel pipe. The most recent major seismic vulnerability study on the CWA pipelines was performed in 1993 and provided an estimate of the number of pipe breaks and repair time needed to restore water service in the event of a significant earthquake.
The San Diego County Water Authority has a program called the Transitional Special Agricultural Water Rate, and the SDCWA will be transitioning the TSAWR into a permanent program.
A unanimous CWA board vote on Nov. 21 approved making the SAWR permanent. An annual review of the SAWR will be conducted in conjunction with other rates and charges and the cost of service process to determine SAWR rates is expected to be completed in spring 2020.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
