Posts

As soon as 2026, the East County Advanced Water Program will deliver water to the faucets of customers. Photo: East County AWP milestone

East County Advanced Water Program Hits Multiple Milestones  

/in , /by

Work on the East County Advanced Water Purification Program facilities and pipelines reached multiple milestones at the start of 2024, and construction continues on schedule at multiple East County locations through 2025. As soon as 2026, the AWP will deliver water to the faucets of customers in the Padre Dam Municipal Water District, Helix Water District, Lakeside Water District service areas, and the northern portion of the Otay Water District service area.

At the main construction site north of Santee Lakes, more than 60% of the concrete has been poured for the water recycling, solids handling, and advanced water purification facilities. Nearly 60% of the 2.3 total miles of open-cut construction on wastewater pipelines that make up the AWP Program are complete.

More than 60% of the concrete has been poured for the East County Advanced Water Program water recycling, solids handling and advanced water purification facilities. Photo: East County AWP

More than 60% of the concrete has been poured for the East County Advanced Water Program water recycling, solids handling and advanced water purification facilities. Photo: East County AWP

Construction also continues on Fanita Parkway, north of Ganley Road in Santee, and within Santee Lakes Recreational Preserve. Pipeline water testing is now underway on that installed pipeline.

Work on the pipelines for the East County Advanced Water Program is affecting access to the Santee Lakes Recreational Preserve, which remains open. Photo: East County AWP

Work on the pipelines for the East County Advanced Water Program is affecting access to the Santee Lakes Recreational Preserve, which remains open. Photo: East County AWP

In addition, pipeline work at Santee Lakes is occurring between Lakes 3 and 4. There is a road closure and no parking in some areas. The Kiwanis Playground at Lake 4 remains open and parking has been preserved for playground visitors.

“Roughly a year and a half ago, we started with a blank slate and since then, the Joint Powers Authority and its project partners have made significant achievements at each of the construction sites,” said Mark Niemiec, director of the East County AWP. “It’s during these ongoing activities within the community including at Santee Lakes that we really appreciate our neighbors’ patience and understanding.”

Pipeline undergrounding scheduled this spring

These new pipelines servicing the East County Advanced Water Program will soon be moved underground. Photo: East County AWP

These new pipelines servicing the East County Advanced Water Program will soon be moved underground. Photo: East County AWP

The wastewater pipelines that will run from the East Mission Gorge Pump Station near State Route 52 to the first lake at Santee Lakes will soon be pulled underground. This trenchless construction method called “Horizontal Directional Drilling” minimizes the impacts to nearby waterways, including the San Diego River. The process takes an estimated 24 to 36 straight hours.

Elsewhere, Fanita Parkway will be temporarily closed for up to one week in March between Ganley Road and Lake Canyon Road to allow for paving on both sides of the street. Residents will see detour signs prior to the closure. The road closure will occur during the day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Purified water pipeline construction is continuing west on Mast Boulevard in Santee, as well as west on Mapleview Street in Lakeside and from Laurel Canyon Road to El Monte Road. Lane closures can be expected.

Residents and commuters in Santee and Lakeside can monitor road closures on the East County AWP website. Photo: East County AWP

Residents and commuters in Santee and Lakeside can monitor road closures on the East County AWP website. Photo: East County AWP

Construction on the 23,000-square-foot Visitors Center is in progress and will be completed by the end of 2025. It will house administrative offices, the operation control center, a testing laboratory, and a community room. The steel beam installation, including 66 columns and 100 beams, will use 350,000 pounds of U.S. steel.

The Flume Trail at Lake Jennings is officially back open following a 10-month closure for purified pipeline construction. The trail will close again during the summer for a couple of months to allow for additional pipeline construction near the shoreline.

The Flume Trail at Lake Jennings is officially back open following a 10-month closure. It will close again for additional construction later this summer. Photo: East County AWP

The Flume Trail at Lake Jennings is officially back open following a 10-month closure. It will close again for additional construction later this summer. Photo: East County AWP

When complete, the East County AWP Program will be able to create up to 11.5 million gallons of purified water per day, which is enough to serve an estimated 400,000 people, or roughly 30% of East San Diego County’s water supply.

The East County AWP Program includes construction of the following:

When operational, the East County AWP will be able to create up to 11.5 million gallons of purified water per day which is enough to serve roughly 30% of East San Diego County’s water supply. Photo: East County AWP

When operational, the East County AWP will be able to create up to 11.5 million gallons of purified water per day which is enough to serve roughly 30% of East San Diego County’s water supply. Photo: East County AWP

  • Water recycling facility treating 16 million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater.
  • Advanced water purification facility treating and purifying 11.5 MGD.
  • Purified water pipeline transporting purified water 10 miles to Lake Jennings.
  • Wastewater and residual pipelines. Each segment is three miles long.
  • East Mission Gorge Pump Station (retrofitted) and City of San Diego partnership of regional brine and wastewater pipelines traveling from the pump station in Santee to the City of San Diego’s sewer line in Mission Valley.
  • Energy recovery system creating three megawatts of renewable energy.

To stay up-to-date with project schedules, community impacts and work descriptions, check the East County Advanced Water Purification Program’s interactive map on  www.eastcountyawp.com or visit @eastcountyawp on social media

Water Supply Strong in San Diego Area, County Water Authority Says

/in , , /by /Fox 5 by Jason Sloss Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

After years of dealing with drought conditions, the region’s water supply is in good shape, ready to meet the demand for 2024, according to the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA).

“Last year we were starting Water Year ‘23 in really heavy drought conditions with state mandatory reductions and this year there’s no mandatory water use reductions… there’s a lot of water in storage in Northern California, reservoirs are full,” said Efren Lopez, water resources specialist with SDCWA.

That’s because of all the storms over the past year that drenched California, delivering above-average amounts of rain and snow with the Sierra snowpack reaching 200% above average.

Full Story

Award-Winning Hauck Mesa Storage Reservoir Project

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

The award-winning Hauck Mesa Storage Reservoir enhances drinking water supply reliability and operational efficiency for the region. Construction was completed June 23 on the San Diego County Water Authority project in North San Diego County.

Full Story
Water ratepayers-LAFCO decision-detachment-San Diego County Water Authority-water rates

LAFCO Decision Could Raise Region’s Water Bills by Nearly $200 Million

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby San Diego County Water Authority Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz

Updated figures released July 3 show that disadvantaged communities, working families, farmers, and others across San Diego County will be forced to pay nearly $200 million more over the next decade for water service unless agencies seeking to leave the San Diego County Water Authority are required to fully cover their costs.

On July 10, the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission’s board is expected to vote on a plan for the Fallbrook and Rainbow water agencies to leave the Water Authority, possibly with the inclusion of an “exit fee.” However, LAFCO’s figures are based on years-old data and flawed projections that understate the annual costs of detachment by at least 50%. Like everything else, costs related to water supplies have inflated significantly over the past three years.

LAFCO decision and data

LAFCO’s data don’t reflect the inflationary realities or the fact that the financial impacts of detachment will continue far beyond LAFCO’s five-year horizon, which does not reflect the actual lifespan of water infrastructure or the debt used to finance it. The LAFCO staff report acknowledges impacts will continue far longer than five years, suggesting that the rest of the county should pay for benefits to Rainbow and Fallbrook.

“From the start of this process, one of our top priorities was making sure that residents across the region aren’t harmed financially. It’s critical that ratepayers who are struggling to make ends meet, independent farmers, and small businesses aren’t forced to subsidize Fallbrook and Rainbow for years to come,” said Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz. “We encourage the LAFCO Commissioners to require Fallbrook and Rainbow to fully cover their costs.”

LAFCO’s staff recommendation to approve the detachment proposals by the Fallbrook and Rainbow water agencies does not include substantive analysis of impacts to disadvantaged communities, or to agriculture in the Water Authority service area. Nor does it include environmental analysis required by law.

The LAFCO staff recommendation includes an exit fee of about $4.8 million a year for five years, which isn’t close to covering the actual costs that will be shifted to residents elsewhere in the county.

Here’s how much retail water agencies in the region may have to pay each year to cover the projected $18.9 million bill from Fallbrook and Rainbow leaving:

(Editor’s Note: The San Diego County Water Authority response to the proposals by the Fallbrook and Rainbow water districts to leave the Water Authority and annex into the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County addressed the wholesale water agency’s concerns in September 2020. San Diego LAFCO’s website provides addtional details on the detachment process.)

Opinion: Water Rights Bills Would Jeopardize Water Reliability

/in , /by /AgAlertby Pat Wirz

Bills in the state Legislature would give increased authority to the California State Water Resources Control Board and could impact historic water rights and threaten water supplies for farming. Dangerous water rights reform bills that put the interests of the few over the interests of the many are moving through the California Legislature.

Full Story

SD County Water Authority Considering Water Rate Increases Due to Inflation

/in , /by /kpbsby City News Service

The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors will have a public hearing and vote Thursday about proposed increases of 8.2% or 9.5% in wholesale water rates for 2024. Citing “extraordinary inflationary pressures and depressed water sales,” the board said the proposals are a way to manage cost increases while still protecting ratepayers, ensuring water reliability and maintaining the authority’s credit ratings.

Full Story

SD County Water Authority Considers Water Rate Increases Due to Inflation

/in , /by /NBC San Diegoby City News Service

The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors will have a public hearing and vote Thursday about proposed increases of 8.2% or 9.5% in wholesale water rates for 2024. Citing “extraordinary inflationary pressures and depressed water sales,” the board said the proposals are a way to manage cost increases while still protecting ratepayers, ensuring water reliability and maintaining the authority’s credit ratings.

Full Story

BUSD Approves Rainbow MWD Lease on Gird Road Property

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

What the Bonsall Unified School District does in the long term with the 49.78-acre parcel off of Gird Road the district owns wasn’t addressed at the Sept. 13 BUSD board meeting. Regardless of whether the district builds a school, builds athletic or other non-classroom facilities, or sells the land, the current use for part of the land will be by the Rainbow Municipal Water District for storage.

Full Story
San Diego County Water Authority Water Resources Specialist Efren Lopez joined CBS 8’s Carlo Cechetto to discuss additional ways San Diegans can reduce their water use. Photo: CBS 8 water saving tips

Water Authority Offers Water Saving Tips on CBS 8

/in , /by

As the current drought stretches into a third year, the San Diego County Water Authority is providing water saving tips as part of a drought survival kit to San Diegans.

Scientists confirm California and the Southwest U.S. is experiencing the worst megadrought in the last 1,200 years. It has prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to order new emergency water rules and cutbacks with the goal of preparing the state for a 10% decrease in the available water supply by 2040.

“The hots are getting a lot hotter, the dries are getting a lot drier and … the wets are getting wetter,” Newsom said in announcing the plan at a desalination plant under construction in Antioch, 45 miles inland from San Francisco, that will turn brackish water into drinking water.

Water saving tips

Many years ago, San Diego regional water leaders had the foresight to call for conservation efforts to help build our resilience. Now we are in a more fortunate position thanks to our diversified water supply than much of the state.

San Diegans have learned how to conserve water, but there is always more we can do. San Diego County Water Authority Water Resources Specialist Efren Lopez joined CBS 8 Anchor and Reporter Carlo Cecchetto on the news program “The Four” to discuss the Governor’s report and offer additional ways San Diegans can reduce water use.

Water conservation is a way of life

“San Diego’s great at conservation. Conservation is a way of life here, but there is always something more we can do,” said Lopez. He suggests homeowners use a shutoff nozzle when hand watering using their garden hose and test soil with a moisture sensor to determine when soil is dry enough before irrigating.

In addition to water-saving measures, San Diego County residents can take advantage of the Water Authority’s rebate programs for turf replacement, irrigation devices, and WaterSmart landscape gardens. Countywide, San Diegans have removed more than one million square feet of turf through rebate programs, resulting in annual water savings of 36.5 million gallons.

“In San Diego, we’ve been diversifying our water supply for decades,” said Lopez. “So we’re prepared for this drought. It’s great to see the governor supportive of resilient supplies and a portfolio approach to our water supply so that we don’t rely on just one source.”

Lopez encouraged San Diego County residents to get additional tips for saving water at www.watersmartSD.org.

Hauck Mesa Storage Reservoir Moving to Completion

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

The San Diego County Water Authority Hauck Mesa Storage Reservoir project in North San Diego County reached a major milestone in late April when crews poured the concrete roof of the new prestressed concrete water tank. The major construction project, which began in March 2021, will improve drinking water supply reliability for the county.

Full Story