Sections of the regional aqueducts in San Diego County will be shut down over the next six months for maintenance projects to ensure a safe and reliable water supply for the region. The San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies are coordinating on the annual “shutdown season” to minimize impacts to residents and businesses, who are not expected to face service disruptions.
Sections of the regional aqueducts in San Diego County will be shut down over the next six months for maintenance projects to ensure a safe and reliable water supply for the region. The San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies are coordinating on the annual “shutdown season” to minimize impacts to residents and businesses, who are not expected to face service disruptions.
Starting October 16, a portion of Pipeline 5 will be out of service for 10 days to accommodate annual maintenance on the entire untreated water system and to prepare for rehabilitation of other sections of the pipeline. The Water Authority has worked for months to coordinate with the affected retail water agencies: Olivenhain Municipal Water District, San Dieguito Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District, Helix Water District, Sweetwater Authority, and the cities of San Diego, Oceanside, Ramona, Poway and Escondido. Customers should check with their water utility if they have questions about localized impacts.
The Pipeline 5 work will rehabilitate about 5,000 feet of 96-inch diameter prestressed concrete cylinder pipe by inserting and securing a steel pipe liner. This portion of the pipeline is within the City of San Marcos, between North Twin Oaks Valley Road and the Water Authority’s Twin Oaks Water Treatment Plant. When completed, approximately 50 miles, or 61% of the Water Authority’s existing prestressed concrete cylinder pipe will be relined.
“Proactive asset management and coordination with our member agencies ensures that the region’s major water infrastructure reliably serves the region’s 3.3 million residents,” said Eva Plajzer, the Water Authority’s director of operations and maintenance. “We have worked with our member agencies for several months to minimize any impacts to residents and businesses.”
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. Maintenance work is scheduled during low-demand periods to minimize impacts on water service.
Constructed in 1982, Pipeline 5 is a vital component of the Water Authority’s regional water infrastructure system, delivering untreated supplies from Lake Skinner in southwest Riverside County to the Lower Otay Water Treatment Plant in southern San Diego County.
In addition to the October upgrades on Pipeline 5, a series of three shutdowns on the Water Authority’s First Aqueduct is scheduled from December through April, when portions of the aqueduct will be relined, along with other maintenance.
(Editor’s note: The Olivenhain Municipal Water District, San Dieguito Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District, Helix Water District, Sweetwater Authority, and the cities of San Diego, Oceanside, Ramona, Poway and Escondido are 10 of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
San Diego officials say they will complete a long-delayed comprehensive analysis of city water rates this year that could lead to sharp increases to pay for major infrastructure projects such as the Pure Water sewage purification system now under construction. The last time San Diego completed such an analysis in 2015, city officials voted to raise water rates by 40 percent over a four-year period.
New officers for the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors were elected today, with Mel Katz starting his two-year term as Board chair on Oct. 1. Katz, vice chair of the Board for the past six months as a representative for the City of Del Mar, will serve with incoming Vice Chair Nick Serrano, a Board representative from the City of San Diego, and incoming Secretary Frank Hilliker. Katz will serve as the 27th board chair since the Water Authority’s founding in 1944.
Gary Croucher, who represents the Otay Water District on the Water Authority’s Board, served as chair the past two years. His term ends on Sept. 30. Croucher has served on the Board since 2001.
The discovery of previously unknown cracks and other concrete defects in the Hodges Dam will extend ongoing repair work by several months, forcing San Diego officials to restrict recreational activities on Lake Hodges and keep its levels low for longer.
The newly discovered defects could prompt state regulators to lower the 104-year-old dam’s rating from “poor” to “unsatisfactory” and order all water removed, but city Public Utilities Director Juan Guerreiro said he hopes the ongoing repairs will prevent that.
Mayor Todd Gloria has signed for the first installment of a $733 million federal loan to fund repairs to San Diego’s aging storm drainage system and protect coastal wetlands.
Gloria was joined by official from the Environmental Protection Agency at a signing ceremony Tuesday at Torrey Pines State Reserve overlooking the Los Peñasquitos Watershed, which will be protected by the stormwater project.
A controversial Southern California water pipeline project has hit another snag, with a federal judge’s ruling that allows the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw key approvals granted during the Trump administration.
The Helix Water District has received an $18 million loan from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to support the Drinking Water Reliability Project. Helix will use the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or WIFIA loan, to increase the region’s drinking water resiliency by expanding water reuse opportunities and reducing the reliance on imported water.
The WIFIA loan will help fund infrastructure improvements for the East County Advanced Water Purification Program, pump station upgrades and cast-iron pipeline replacement throughout the district.
“In California, we are purifying recycled water and ocean water to replace the water that nature used to provide,” said Helix Water District Board President Kathleen Coates Hedberg. “The only way we can afford to keep rates as low as we can and develop these new projects is through collaboration – multiple agencies working together and securing capital from multiple funding sources. We are partnering with neighboring agencies to develop a new, drought-proof water supply and we are so pleased that the EPA selected our project for funding.”
Specifically, Helix Water District will modernize existing pump stations, conveyance infrastructure, and distribution pipelines as well as install an aeration system in Lake Jennings to meet state surface water requirements.
By completing the project, Helix Water District will replace 30% of its water needs that are currently met by regional sources with an alternative source of purified water conveyed from the East County AWP, which received a separate WIFIA loan. This project also supports California’s Title 22 “Pure Water” objective to increase use of recycled water by at least 2 million-acre-feet per year by 2030.
Scheduled to be complete in 2026, the East County AWP will generate up to 11.5 million gallons per day of purified water— meeting approximately 30% of current drinking water demands for East San Diego County residents and businesses.
As a result of the WIFIA program’s flexibility and competitive rates, Helix Water District will save approximately $3.2 million by financing with a WIFIA loan. Construction and operation are estimated to create nearly 400 jobs.
“Helix Water District’s project represents the future of water in the West,” said EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water Bruno Pigott. “EPA is proud to help finance these infrastructure upgrades that will increase water reuse and help secure reliable safe drinking water for generations to come.”
Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan and guarantee program administered by EPA. The WIFIA program’s aim is to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects.
(Editor’s note: The Helix Water District and the Padre Dam Municipal Water District are two of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region. Water agencies in north San Diego County also received federal funds recently to support water recycling projects.)
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria on Tuesday signed off on a loan with the Environmental Protection Agency to fix up the city’s aging storm drain system.
The loan will allow for up to $733 million to be invested in stormwater infrastructure projects over the next five years. It’s one of the biggest infrastructure investments in recent years. The mayor’s signature kicked off the first installment of $225 million.
The loan will fund more than 80 projects.
“Our storm drain system is largely underground and out of sight, but the implications of this aging infrastructure failing are massive – from serious flooding in our neighborhoods to pollution of our bays and the ocean,” Gloria said in a statement. “While replacing storm drains and upgrading pump stations doesn’t capture the public’s attention like fixing potholes, these major investments in critical infrastructure are incredibly important to our neighborhoods and quality of life.”
A permit approved Thursday by the California Coastal Commission will allow the Carlsbad desalination plant to modify its seawater intakes and discharge structures to better protect marine life and create a “stand-alone” system.
