San Diego’s proposal to build its own $5 billion pipeline to the Colorado River and bypass paying Los Angeles for water is now in a state of the undead –technically lifeless unless local water officials choose to revive it again.
Already in doubt from the West’s changing climate, a proposed pipeline across southern Utah remains bogged in a regulatory limbo that could hold up the project indefinitely.
If built, Utah’s 143-mile Lake Powell pipeline would draw up to 86,000 acre-feet of the Colorado River’s flow — depleted by drought and overuse — from the ever-shrinking Lake Powell for use in St. George and Kane County.
By the time Utah water bosses clear a stalled environmental review and secure the water rights, however, there may be no Lake Powell as we’ve known it, just a “dead pool” stacked behind Glen Canyon Dam. Complicating this bleak picture is the pipeline’s current design, which places the intakes above the lake’s future levels, leaving them high, dry and unusable if the drought continues to drain the lake.
There was the submarine pipeline from Alaska to California. Towing Antarctic icebergs to make up for shortfalls in drinking water supplies. A pipeline from Lake Superior to Wyoming.
And that one plan that more or less required an invasion of Canada.
Ventura has struck a 20-year deal with a Riverside County water wholesaler that would save the city millions of dollars in costs to maintain its rights to imported state water.
Under the agreement approved last month, the city would lease its share of imported water to the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency in Beaumont, an arrangement that would reap $1.1 million this year and cover nearly half of the $2.27 million it will owe to keep its state water entitlement. San Gorgonio would increase its share of the costs starting next year.
Tens of millions of gallons of water will soon be flowing again through a major pipeline in North San Diego County following successful repairs on a distressed section of Pipeline 4 near Bonsall.
San Diego County Water Authority staff detected potential pipeline weaknesses just north of West Lilac Road in late January using real-time acoustic fiber-optic monitoring. This technology locates distressed sections of pipelines even while they are in use as part of the agency’s high-tech asset management program.
The repair is part of the Water Authority’s proactive approach and long-term commitment to maintaining regional water supply. Strategic investments in money-saving management tools and training paid off when staff spotted a potential problem that could have led to an unplanned shutdown of a 7.5-foot diameter water pipeline.
The pipeline was shut down March 1 so repairs could begin. While Pipeline 4 was out of service, five North County water agencies that rely on it continued water deliveries by other means to homes and businesses.
Work underway on major Pipeline 4 repair project in north San Diego County that maintains water supply reliability and affordability. Thanks to five San Diego County Water Authority member agencies, water deliveries will continue during work. https://t.co/iMvnJ2FeJl #cawater pic.twitter.com/DNPVHCeyfO
— San Diego County Water Authority (@sdcwa) March 4, 2022
Even during the shutdown, the Water Authority’s resilient system can deliver treated water to member agency connections from multiple sources, including the Carlsbad Desalination Plant.
The Water Authority uses the most current technologies for monitoring large-diameter pipelines, including electromagnetic scanning, which detects and locates damaged areas within pipeline walls, and real-time acoustic fiber-optic monitoring, which can detect and locate distress on pipelines while they are in service.
The Water Authority operates and maintains a water delivery system capable of delivering more than 900 million gallons of water per day through 310 miles of large-diameter pipeline, 1,600 aqueduct-related structures, and approximately 100 metering/flow control facilities. It also includes a state-of-the-art water treatment plant, hydroelectric facilities, pump stations, flow regulatory structures, and reservoirs that store water for emergencies and dry years.
As assets age, the Water Authority proactively replaces and repairs them to minimize impacts to member agencies and the public. Investments in the latest inspection technologies, including electromagnetic scanning, robotic inspections and 3D tunnel inspections help the Water Authority’s asset management team detect defects in pipelines and related facilities. By identifying corrosion or other types of deficiencies early, potential problems are corrected so they don’t become large and more costly issues.
“This repair highlights the value of strategic investments in money-saving asset management tools and training,” said Martin Coghill, a senior manager for operations and maintenance at the Water Authority. “By proactively identifying this problem spot, we prevented what could have been a major unplanned shutdown.”
The San Diego County Water Authority is proactively fixing a 90-inch diameter pipeline in Bonsall. The work is part of the agency’s long-term commitment to maintaining regional investments in water supply reliability and affordability.
Water Authority staff detected potential pipeline weaknesses just north of West Lilac Road in late January using real-time acoustic fiber-optic monitoring. This technology locates distressed sections of pipelines even while they are in use as part of the Water Authority’s high-tech asset management program.
Further investigation prompted the Water Authority to prioritize repairs on a 48-foot-long section of pipeline. Water Authority staff are carefully monitoring the pipe section around the clock while preparing designs and identifying contractors that can quickly mobilize for repairs.
Plans are to shut down and drain that stretch of pipe starting March 1. Work to replace the pipeline segments will continue until the line is back in service approximately 10 days later.
“This repair highlights the value of strategic investments in money-saving asset management tools and training,” said Martin Coghill, a senior manager for operations and maintenance at the Water Authority. “By proactively identifying this problem spot, we prevented what could have been a major unplanned shutdown.”
The San Diego County Water Authority is proactively fixing a 90-inch diameter pipeline in Bonsall as part of the agency’s long-term commitment to maintaining regional investments in water supply reliability and affordability. Graphic: San Diego County Water Authority
The Water Authority has been coordinating closely with retail water agencies in North County that rely on deliveries from Pipeline 4. Rainbow Municipal Water District, Fallbrook Public Utility District, City of Oceanside, Valley Center Municipal Water District, and Vallecitos Water District are preparing to continue water deliveries by other means to homes and businesses while Pipeline 4 is out of service.
Fortunately, while Pipeline 4 is shut down the Water Authority’s resilient system can deliver treated water to retail agency connections from multiple sources, including the Carlsbad Desalination Plant.
Fortunately, while Pipeline 4 is shut down the Water Authority’s resilient system can deliver treated water to retail agency connections from multiple sources, including the Carlsbad Desalination Plant. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Water Authority infrastructure repairs are funded by water ratepayers countywide. Regional investments in supply reliability ensure consistent and timely monitoring, maintenance, and repairs of the complex countywide water delivery system. Those investments, in turn, support San Diego’s regional economy and quality of life.
The Water Authority operates and maintains a water delivery system capable of delivering more than 900 million gallons of water per day through 310 miles of large-diameter pipeline, 1,600 aqueduct-related structures, and approximately 100 metering/flow control facilities. It also includes a state-of-the-art water treatment plant, hydroelectric facilities, pump stations, flow regulatory structures, and reservoirs that store water for emergencies and dry years.
Work underway on major Pipeline 4 repair project in north San Diego County that maintains water supply reliability and affordability. Thanks to five San Diego County Water Authority member agencies, water deliveries will continue during work. https://t.co/iMvnJ2FeJl #cawater pic.twitter.com/nRmXwyXVty
— San Diego County Water Authority (@sdcwa) March 2, 2022
As assets age, the Water Authority proactively replaces and repairs them to minimize impacts to member agencies and the public. Investments in the latest inspection technologies, including electromagnetic scanning, robotic inspections and 3D tunnel inspections help the Water Authority’s asset management team detect defects in pipelines and related facilities. By identifying corrosion or other types of deficiencies early, potential problems are corrected so they don’t become large and more costly issues.
Approximately 82 miles of the Water Authority’s pipelines are pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipes, also known as PCCP, that are made from a combination of steel and concrete. However, numerous catastrophic failures have occurred with these pipes worldwide in recent decades. In response, the Water Authority instituted a proactive program in 1991 to reinforce the pipelines with steel liners. To date, the Water Authority has relined 47 miles of PCCP.
(Editor’s note: The Rainbow Municipal Water District, Fallbrook Public Utility District, City of Oceanside, Valley Center Municipal Water District, and Vallecitos Water District are five of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
With its reservoirs nearly refilled, the Marin Municipal Water District is considering delaying a proposed $100 million project to build an emergency water pipeline across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.
A large water pipeline being built near Lemoore in Kings County is raising eyebrows as much for its possible uses as for the name associated with its construction — John Vidovich.
The ruptured offshore pipeline that spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil off the Southern California coast this fall did not have a fully functioning leak detection system at the time, according to a report obtained by The Associated Press.
The report was compiled by pipeline operator, Beta Offshore, a subsidiary of Houston-based Amplify Energy, and filed with federal regulators. It reveals Amplify is investigating whether personnel or control room issues contributed to the accident but does not explain what was wrong with the detection system.
The Marin Municipal Water District has allocated up to $23.2 million to buy equipment for a proposed emergency supply pipeline across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.
The investment, approved by the district board on Tuesday, is the largest the agency has made since proposing the idea earlier this year.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
