Concrete pipes weighing over 12 thousand pounds. They have a long journey ahead. The San Diego County Water Authority is sending two of the pipes 16 hundred miles north. They are going to Calgary to help with the water crisis.
“This is one of several pieces of pipe we have in our yard that we store in case of emergency. Thankfully we are able to release two of these pipes to Calgary. They need it more than we do,” said Martin Coghill.
Carlsbad’s desalination plant, which provides 10 percent of San Diego County’s drinking water, will get $19.4 million for the construction of its new seawater intakes as part of $142 million in federal grants for water projects throughout the West.
Construction of the new facilities began in January 2023 at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, a spokesperson for the San Diego County Water Authority said Friday. The new intake screens will be placed in operation this fall, and the full project should be finished in early 2025.
Twelve days after a massive water main broke in Calgary, a pair of replacement pipes from San Diego will start a multi-day journey heading north to help crews here repair five sections.
“These are spare pipes that we’ve had in our yard and they are a suitable size for use in Calgary,” Martin Coghill told CTV News.
Current. Credible. Calgary. That’s the focus on CONNECT with Sarah Crosbie.
San Diego County Water Authority program manager Martin Coghill: “I can only imagine how much stress is involved.”
Help is on the way for the City of Calgary amid its water problems.
The City of Calgary confirmed the San Diego County Water Authority helped it to source a piece of feeder main pipe.
“It is currently being transported from San Diego to Calgary and will be arriving this week,” tweeted the City of Calgary on Sunday.
“Stay classy, San Diego.”
Rep. Mike Levin announced Thursday that he has secured $32.2 million in federal funds for three desalination projects to increase water security in north San Diego and south Orange counties.
Last month, the San Carlos Area Council hosted Sami Sweis (pictured above), a water resources engineer with the San Diego County Water Authority, for an overview and update from the agency.
J.F. Shea Construction, Inc., was given the San Diego County Water Authority contract to reline Pipeline 5 in San Luis Rey Canyon.
The SDCWA board voted unanimously May 23 to award J.F. Shea a $47,913,795 contract for the work. The project will reline approximately 9,000 linear feet of existing 96-inch diameter pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe.
When the region’s water importer said it was hurting for cash, the city of San Diego said: I’ll be your sugar daddy. That’s basically what happened last week after the San Diego County Water Authority – in charge of getting water from the Colorado River and northern California to San Diego – broke the news to its 22 customer water districts that its prices were going up 39 percent over the next two years. Mayor Todd Gloria pushed back on the increase, calling on his board members to find a way to soften the blow on San Diegans.
It’s been a rainy couple of years – and that means the region’s water importer and seller is hurting for cash. To help cover that gap, among other growing costs of its massive water infrastructure system, the San Diego County Water Authority proposed increasing water rates by up to 39 percent in the next two years.
