Tag Archive for: Water Infrastructure

The El Camino Real infrastructure improvement project has reached its midway point and will be complete in Spring 2021. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

El Camino Real Infrastructure Project Reaches Milestone

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The Olivenhain Municipal Water District project to replace aging water infrastructure along El Camino Real in Encinitas has now reached the halfway point. After getting underway in March 2020 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the project is making steady progress. District officials expect the entire project to be completed in Spring 2021.

During the El Camino Real Potable Water Pipeline Replacement and Green Bike Lane Striping Project, OMWD is replacing approximately 4,700 linear feet of existing 12-inch diameter potable water pipeline along North El Camino Real from Encinitas Boulevard to Garden View Road, and approximately 650 linear feet of existing 12-inch diameter pipeline between Via Molena and Mountain Vista Drive. Water service lines and fire hydrant laterals served by the existing pipelines are also being replaced.

The two pipelines were originally installed in 1961 and 1974, and were fast approaching the end of their lifespan.

El Camino Real infrastructure project – ensuring water supply reliability

The pipeline replacement will reduce water loss and prevent emergency shutdowns due to leaks. This is vitally important for water conservation and to ensure water supply reliability for businesses and residents.

“OMWD has a robust water loss prevention program in place which reduces costs associated with water loss and emergency repairs in addition to conserving one of our most precious resources,” said OMWD Board Director Christy Guerin. “This project is a big undertaking, but it is absolutely important to the health and safety of the community.”

Bike lane striping reduces inconvenience to residents

The El Camino Real infrastructure project will work through five phases and is expected to be completed by Spring 2021. Graphic: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

“OMWD and the city work closely together to find opportunities like these where we can streamline projects and reduce the inconvenience  they may cause to residents,” said Guerin, who is also the vice chair of the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors and former Encinitas mayor and councilmember.

Bike lanes included in El Camino Real infrastructure project

The pipeline replacement is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The City of Encinitas’ green bike lane portion of the project will begin at that time.

The green bike lane portion of the project will provide traffic calming measures, including improvements to safety and mobility for bicyclists along North El Camino Real from Encinitas Boulevard to Leucadia Boulevard by restriping and narrowing travel lanes. In addition, green-colored striping will augment some areas on the bike lanes and new signage and pavement markings will be installed.

Olivenhain Municipal Water District is implementing the lane restriping portion of the project on behalf of the City of Encinitas as an efficiency measure, which is taking place concurrently with the pipeline replacement project.

Collaboration on infrastructure improvements

The two agencies have combined what would normally be two separate, unrelated infrastructure improvement projects into a single effort to improve operational efficiency and reduce the temporary inconvenience of disruptions to area residents and businesses.

“These improvement projects are important for the continued success and safety of the surrounding areas,” said Encinitas Councilmember Joe Mosca. “We understand that anytime you are working in the road, especially in high-traffic areas, there can be traffic and noise impacts. That is why the City of Encinitas and OMWD are working together closely to minimize the time we need to be out there and keep any impacts to the public at a minimum.”

Overnight work

As daytime traffic has returned to normal levels, the City of Encinitas requested work hours be shifted back to overnight. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

As daytime traffic has returned to normal levels, the City of Encinitas requested work hours be shifted back to overnight. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

At the start of the project, Encinitas requested that work be done at night to further reduce traffic impacts. During the stay-at-home order, work could be completed during daytime hours due to significantly reduced traffic levels. However, as traffic has returned to normal levels, the City requested work hours be shifted back to overnight.

Olivenhain Municipal Water District officials continue to work closely with Encinitas officials to monitor the project’s impact on traffic on a week-by-week basis and modify the schedule as needed. Both public agencies and the project contractor Teichert Energy and Utilities Group continue to adapt and respond to opportunities to mitigate impacts to the surrounding community while maintaining efficiency.

Project updates are on the water district’s website.

The Hidden Role of Water Infrastructure in Driving a COVID-19 Recovery

/in , , /by /Brookings Institutionby Newsha Ajami and Joseph W. Kane

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only disrupted the social and economic realities of our communities, but also undermined some of the basic infrastructure we depend on. Our water infrastructure has been at the heart of this realization; its importance to health, hygiene, and safety has never been more obvious, yet millions of disadvantaged and vulnerable households still lack reliable and affordable access to water.

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Pipeline Replacement to Close Portions of Temecula Parkway Starting Next Month

/in , , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Will Fritz

Rancho California Water District crews will begin replacing more than a mile of pipeline under Temecula Parkway in November.

Staff from the water district updated the Temecula City Council on their plans at the council’s Oct. 13 meeting, where they said the project will result in lane closures on westbound Temecula Parkway from November through the middle of next year.

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‘Imagine a Day Without Water’ Advocacy Day Returns This Week

/in , , /by /Water Finance & Managementby Andrew Farr

The sixth annual ‘Imagine a Day Without Water,’ advocacy day is returning this Wednesday, Oct. 21, with likely thousands of individuals, companies and organizations expected to take part in highlighting the importance of water and the need for investment. Imagine a Day Without Water is a national education campaign that takes place one day a year and brings together diverse stakeholders to illustrate how water is essential, invaluable and in need of investment.

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Water Authority to Host Public Session on Economics of Regional Conveyance Study

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority will host an online public information session on Oct. 27 about economic considerations related to the proposed Regional Conveyance System. The virtual event will run from 10 a.m. to noon.

 

 

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Environmentalists and Dam Operators, at War for Years, Start Making Peace

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Brad Plumer

The industry that operates America’s hydroelectric dams and several environmental groups announced an unusual agreement Tuesday to work together to get more clean energy from hydropower while reducing the environmental harm from dams, in a sign that the threat of climate change is spurring both sides to rethink their decades-long battle over a large but contentious source of renewable power.

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La Niña and California’s New Water Year

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It’s that time of the year in California, when water managers, climatologists and meteorologists look at the factors that determine what the winter will bring during Water Year 2020-21 (October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021).

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said that La Niña conditions are present in the tropical Pacific, “with an approximately 85% chance of La Niña lasting through the winter.” Forecasters currently think this La Niña will be on the stronger side. For California, those conditions typically mean a drier winter, with increasingly dry conditions heading into 2021.

Fortunately for the San Diego region, any impacts from La Niña will be lessened because of the region’s development of a diversified water supply portfolio. Following a record number of acres burned from wildfires in 2020, La Niña would only increase fire danger.

NOAA-La Niña-Water Year 2020te.

La Niña continues in the tropical Pacific, with an approximately 85% chance of lasting through the winter, according to NOAA’s October 2020 La Niña update. Graphic: NOAA

Water Year 2020

But, whether the forecasts come to fruition, and what that means for California’s water supply, won’t be fully known until next spring. What we know now is that the water year that just ended (October 1, 2019 – September 30, 2020) varied across the state.

While Northern California was mostly dry, parts of Southern California experienced above average precipitation, according to the California Department of Water Resources. The agency said that the water year ended below average and pointed to the impact of climate change on the California’s water supply.

Impacts of climate change

“California is experiencing the impacts of climate change with devastating wildfires, record temperatures, variability in precipitation, and a smaller snowpack,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “We must continue to invest in our infrastructure to prepare the state to cope with more extreme weather for the state’s needs today and in the future.”

For Water Year 2020, a lack of precipitation resulted in a snowpack of just 50% of average on April 1, as measured by the California Cooperative Snow Survey Program, making it the 10th smallest snowpack in California since 1950, according to the DWR. California’s reservoirs received just a third of the water runoff from precipitation and snowmelt that they did during the same time period a year ago.

The wet season got off to a slow start, but a series of storms in late November and early December pushed 2019 precipitation to near or above average in central and southern California, according to Goldy Herbon, San Diego County Water Authority senior water resources specialist.

Driest February on record

“The wet start didn’t last with dry conditions taking hold over most of the state in January, and then most of California experienced its driest February on record,” said Herbon.

While precipitation picked up in March 2020 for Southern California, statewide snowpack in mid-March was only 38% of average.

“The dry north/wet south precipitation pattern continued in March and April, with some locations in Southern California setting many daily precipitation records, San Diego included, as northern California precipitation levels remained below average,” said Herbon.

Water supplies in “excellent shape”

Despite the below average year in northern California, Herbon said statewide water supplies are in “excellent shape” thanks to above average precipitation the previous year and good reservoir storage. DWR reports that statewide reservoir storage through the end of September 2020 was projected to be 93% of average.

In the San Diego region, a wet spring boosted rainfall totals to near or above normal.

Water Year 2020-Water Supply-La Nina

Regional precipitation during Water Year 2020. Graphic: National Weather Service San Diego

Regional Conveyance Study-RCS-Water Supply

Water Authority to Host Public Session on Economics of Regional Conveyance Study

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The San Diego County Water Authority will host an online public information session on Oct. 27 about economic considerations related to the proposed Regional Conveyance System. The virtual event will run from 10 a.m. to noon. To reserve a spot, email .

Meeting participants can:

  • Learn about alternatives the Water Authority Board of Directors is studying to secure San Diego County’s future water supplies
  • Ask the experts about key issues
  • Understand the feasibility and costs of building a conveyance system to deliver San Diego County’s Colorado River supplies
  • Discuss potential next steps

In June of 2019, the Water Authority’s Board of Directors approved a study of the viability of a new regional conveyance system that would deliver water from the Colorado River to San Diego County and could provide multiple benefits across the Southwest.

Regional Conveyance Study

The Phase A report, released in August 2020, found that building a new conveyance system to transport the region’s supplies from the Quantification Settlement Agreement is cost-competitive with other long-term strategies for meeting the region’s water needs.

At its August 2020 meeting, the Water Authority’s Board decided to continue the regional discussion about the study until November 19, at which time the Board is expected to decide whether to move ahead with Phase B of the study.

To learn more about the Regional Conveyance System Study or to read the executive summary and the full report, go to sdcwa.org/colorado-river-supplies-management.

Potential pipeline routes

Regional Conveyance Study-RCS-Economics-Water Supply

A study of a new regional water conveyance system to deliver high-priority Colorado River supplies from the Imperial Valley shows three potential routes to move the water. Graphic: San Diego County Water Authority

Each of the potential conveyance routes would connect to the tail end of the All-American Canal where it meets the Westside Main Canal in the southwest corner of Imperial Valley.

FPUD Approves Final Change Order for Winter Haven Road Pipeline Replacement

/in , , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

Unforeseen conditions caused a change order to the Fallbrook Public Utility District contract to replace the pipeline along Winter Haven Road, but it was the only change order needed in the contract to replace approximately 2,570 feet of pipeline.

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Rainbow Approves Contract to Install Morro Reservoir Tank Mixing System

/in , , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Rainbow Municipal Water District approved a contract to install a reservoir mixing system in the Morro Reservoir.

Helene Brazier did not participate in the Sept. 22 board meeting, when the other four board members gave support to the contract with CPC Systems Inc. The contract will be for $232,998 and CPC Systems, which is based in Irwindale, will install nine Kasco mixers with an option to install three more Kasco mixers.

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