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.
A new analysis says San Diego must raise water rates 17.6% over the next two years to fund the city’s Pure Water sewage recycling system and cover rising costs to buy imported water and replace aging pipes.
The average monthly bill for a customer in a single-family home would increase from $81.07 to $95.03 in November 2023, and then to $103.06 in January 2025. Bills for high-volume water users would likely climb even more.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s First Aqueduct will be shut down periodically over the next four months as work begins for maintenance projects to ensure a safe and reliable water supply for the region. A series of three shutdowns on the First Aqueduct is scheduled from December through March, when portions of the aqueduct will be relined, along with other maintenance.
As work begins, the Water Authority and its member agencies are coordinating to minimize impacts to residents and businesses, while servicing pipelines that are more than 65 years old.
Customers of these affected retail agencies during the Dec. 5-14 shutdown should check with their local water utility if they have questions about localized impacts: Fallbrook Public Utility District, Rainbow Municipal Water District, Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District, Vallecitos Water District, Valley Center Municipal Water District, Vista Irrigation District, and the Yuima Municipal Water District.
“Proactively managing our water delivery system in coordination with our member agencies ensures we continue to provide a safe and reliable supply that serves the region’s 3.3 million residents and our $240 billion economy,” said Eva Plajzer, the Water Authority’s director of operations and maintenance. “It requires an extraordinary amount of work each fall and winter during the shutdown season to take care of this critical infrastructure.”
Maintenance work on pipelines is scheduled during low-demand periods to minimize impacts on water service. The other scheduled shutdowns on the First Aqueduct are January 23 to February 1 and February 27 to March 8. The February 27 to March 8 shutdown will also impact the Helix Water District and the cities of San Diego, Poway and Ramona.
California’s Department of Water Resources announced that it has awarded $86 million in financial assistance to meet the immediate and long-term water needs for millions of Californians. The department is providing $44 million to its Small Community Drought Relief Program and $42 million to its Integrational Regional Water Management Program.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s First Aqueduct will be shut down periodically over the next four months for maintenance projects to ensure a safe and reliable water supply for the region. A series of three shutdowns on the First Aqueduct is scheduled from December through March, when portions of the aqueduct will be relined, along with other maintenance.
The Water Authority and its member agencies are coordinating to minimize impacts to residents and businesses, while servicing pipelines that are more than 65 years old.
Customers of these affected retail agencies during the Dec. 5-14 shutdown should check with their local water utility if they have questions about localized impacts: Fallbrook Public Utility District, Rainbow Municipal Water District, Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District, Vallecitos Water District, Valley Center Municipal Water District, Vista Irrigation District, and the Yuima Municipal Water District.
“Proactively managing our water delivery system in coordination with our member agencies ensures we continue to provide a safe and reliable supply that serves the region’s 3.3 million residents and our $240 billion economy,” said Eva Plajzer, the Water Authority’s director of operations and maintenance. “It requires an extraordinary amount of work each fall and winter during the shutdown season to take care of this critical infrastructure.”
Maintenance work on pipelines is scheduled during low-demand periods to minimize impacts on water service. The other scheduled shutdowns on the First Aqueduct are January 23 to February 1 and February 27 to March 8. The February 27 to March 8 shutdown will also impact the Helix Water District and the cities of San Diego, Poway and Ramona.
The historic First Aqueduct was constructed in the 1940s with Pipeline 1 and in the 1950s with Pipeline 2. On November 28, 1947, the first Colorado River water flowed south from Riverside County for 71 miles into the City of San Diego’s San Vicente Reservoir via the First Aqueduct.
By order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the U.S. Navy built the San Diego Aqueduct to deliver Colorado River water to San Diego. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority archives
The Water Authority’s Asset Management Program is a key element of providing safe and reliable water supplies to the region. The agency continually assesses and inspects its 310 miles of large-diameter pipelines, which provide treated and untreated water to 24 member agencies in San Diego County. The program is widely recognized for pioneering work – including a patented inspection device – that promotes water affordability by avoiding costly unplanned disruptions in service.
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. Identifying potential issues early avoids more costly fixes later.
(Editor’s Note:The Fallbrook Public Utility District, Rainbow Municipal Water District, Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District, Vallecitos Water District, Valley Center Municipal Water District, Vista Irrigation District, and the Yuima Municipal Water District are seven of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
November 30, 2022 – The San Diego County Water Authority’s First Aqueduct will be shut down periodically over the next four months for maintenance projects to ensure a safe and reliable water supply for the region. A series of three shutdowns on the First Aqueduct is scheduled from December through March, when portions of the aqueduct will be relined, along with other maintenance.
SAN DIEGO – As the City of San Diego continues to make major progress on one of the largest infrastructure projects in the City’s history, there will be temporary impacts to some water activities at Miramar Reservoir. For the safety of residents and visitors, water activities at Miramar will be suspended beginning next week through early 2023 due to pipeline construction work for the Pure Water Program. Shore areas, including picnic and barbecue areas, paths and shore fishing, will remain accessible to the public during the project.
Water activities will also be suspended in mid-2023 during a second phase of the pipeline project. During these two construction periods, boats, canoes, kayaks and float tubes will not be allowed. The 1-mile pipeline at Miramar Reservoir will include pipeline assembly on barges on the surface of the reservoir before being sunk and permanently installed underwater. The first phase of construction includes the completion of tunneling into the reservoir (mid-November 2022 to early 2023) and the second phase, starting mid-2023, will include the construction of the pipeline on the reservoir.
“This pipeline project is a crucial part of the Pure Water Program that will be vital to providing drinking water in the future,” said Juan Guerreiro, Director of the City’s Public Utilities Department. “We are focused on limiting the impacts to our facilities while this work is underway, and we appreciate the public’s patience during the construction phases.”
The project team will work to minimize inconveniences associated with traffic, construction noise and large construction equipment, but please plan extra time for parking when visiting the reservoir.
Pure Water San Diego is the City’s phased, multi-year program that will provide nearly half of our water supply locally by 2035. Pure Water will use proven purification technology to clean recycled water and produce safe, high-quality drinking water. The program offers a cost effective investment for San Diego’s water needs and will provide a reliable, sustainable water supply.
Valley Center Municipal Water District and its customers are long accustomed to dealing with periodic aqueduct shutdowns which allow the district’s sole wholesale water supplier, the San Diego County Water Authority, to inspect, repair, and make improvements to our imported water aqueduct system.
However, this coming winter will be especially challenging, as there will be three consecutive aqueduct shutdowns in fairly rapid succession: (1) December 4 –14, 2022, (2) January 22 – February 1, 2023, and (3) February 26 – March 8, 2023.
At play is the fact that the three tunnels on the 1st San Diego Aqueduct (“1st Aqueduct”) need to be relined to protect the quality of the treated water traveling north to south through the enclosed aqueduct, and restore its operational integrity. The 1st Aqueduct serves five of VCMWD’s seven Aqueduct Connections, spanning the full length of the District’s 100-square-mile service area. Although VCMWD does have a connection to the 2nd San Diego Aqueduct (“2nd Aqueduct”), the 1st Aqueduct provides water to approximately 85% of the District’s service area. Completed in the early 1950s, the 1st Aqueduct began serving the fledgling Valley Center Municipal Water District soon after its formation election in 1954 and has served the district continuously for 67 years.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors on Thursday approved a Project Labor Agreement to govern most of the agency’s future construction contracts, ensuring projects deliver a range of community and worker benefits while continuing to be built to the highest standards.
By setting the bar for the Board to consider PLAs at $1 million, the Board embraced a strategy designed to foster a well-trained local workforce; enhance the Water Authority’s ability to compete for state and federal construction grants; prevent work stoppages and similar disruptions; and expedite resolution of contractor/labor disputes
The Rainbow Municipal Water District certified the Programmatic Environmental Impact Report for Rainbow’s water and sewer master plan.
