Tag Archive for: Water Supply

An overhead view of construction progress on the East County Advanced Water Purification program Education Center. Photo: East County AWP Padre Dam

East County Advanced Water Program Summer Progress Report

/in /by

Significant work has been completed on the East County Advanced Water Purification Program (East County AWP) since construction began more than two years ago in June 2022. Multiple milestones have been achieved through the first half of 2024, with construction continuing at multiple East County locations through 2025.

The East County Advanced Water Purification Program is an important water project for East San Diego County. When complete, it will deliver a clean, reliable and local water source.

Construction reached a significant milestone in July, completing 58% of the purified water pipeline installation. This 10-mile pipeline will transport purified water from north of Santee Lakes to Lake Jennings.

Elements currently under construction in parts of Santee and Lakeside include:

  • Installing a 10-mile purified water pipeline
  • Constructing wastewater/residual pipelines and pump station upgrades
  • Building water treatment facilities, operations center, laboratory, and public education center

Work underway at Lake Jennings

Lake Jennings is expected to be restored to full capacity later this summer. Photo: East County AWP

Lake Jennings is expected to be restored to full capacity later this summer. Photo: East County AWP

Crews are working to connect the purified water pipeline to Lake Jennings on the north end of the lake in Half Moon Cove. In April 2024, Helix Water District temporarily lowered Lake Jennings by approximately 23 feet to make this work possible. Helix completed its work on the reservoir’s outlet tower and is refilling the lake.

The lake is expected to be restored to full capacity later this summer. Click here for additional lake updates. Minor work nearby will require occasional, short-term closures of the Flume Trail.

Purified water is expected to start flowing into Lake Jennings in 2026. The water will mix with local and imported water, followed by treatment at the R.M. Levy Water Treatment Plant and then distributed to the community.

Treatment facilities taking shape

Roads have reopened at Lakes 3 and 4 at the Santee Lakes Recreational Preserve. Photo: East County AWP East County Advanced Water

Roads have reopened at Lakes 3 and 4 at the Santee Lakes Recreational Preserve. Photo: East County AWP

Construction of the treatment facilities north of Santee Lakes is progressing, with roughly 80% of the concrete (42,000 cubic yards) poured. Once complete, 52,400 cubic yards of concrete will be used—enough to fill 16 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The advanced water purification, water recycling and solids handling facilities are being built, as well as an operations center to house the operation controls, laboratory, and education center. The public will be invited to visit the interactive lobby and to tour the facilities once the program goes online.

Wastewater and residual pipelines currently under construction run parallel to each other and are each 3.5 miles long. They will connect the water recycling facility north of Santee Lakes to the pump station near the westbound onramp to Route 52.

An example of a trenchless construction method called horizontal directional drilling. Photo: East County AWP

The residuals pipeline has been successfully installed under the Carlton Oaks Golf Course and San Diego River using a trenchless construction method called horizontal directional drilling. This method is used instead of digging a conventional open trench, minimizing environmental impacts.

More than 100,000 pounds of pulling force was required for this operation. The installation of the wastewater pipeline running parallel, using the same method, is anticipated by early 2025.

Water from this project will be provided to customers in Padre Dam Municipal Water District, Helix Water District, Lakeside Water District service areas, and the northern portion of the Otay Water District.

Traffic affected in Santee and Lakeside construction zones

Construction has affected traffic in several areas.

In Santee, wastewater pipeline construction is underway on Fanita Parkway near Lake Canyon Road.  When traveling in the area, expect one-way traffic control with delays of up to five minutes. Flaggers are assisting drivers in navigating around the construction zone.

Elsewhere, purified water pipeline construction continues from Park Center Drive, heading west toward Fanita Parkway in Santee. Road paving is complete between Magnolia Avenue and Park Center Drive, and between Cambury Drive and Halberns Boulevard. All of this work has resulted in traffic control with lane closures.

Drivers should plan additional traveling time on Mapleview and Ashwood Streets. Work will continue in this area over the next few weeks. Photo: East County AWP East County Advanced Water

Drivers should plan additional traveling time on Mapleview and Ashwood Streets in Lakeside. Work will continue in this area over the next few weeks. Photo: East County AWP

In Lakeside, temporary traffic control with reduced lanes is also in place next to El Capitan High School. Drivers should plan additional traveling time on Mapleview and Ashwood Streets. Work will continue in this area over the next few weeks. On Riverside Drive, construction recently got underway near Rio Camino and is expected to last for the next couple of months.

Purified water pipeline installation along the Channel Road Bridge is complete. Crews will soon shift work locations to State Route 67 and on the west side of the freeway on Mapleview. Pipeline installation under State Route 67 will be achieved using another trenchless construction method called ‘jack and bore.’

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

California To Send 200 Litres of Water per Second to Mexico Amid Shortage

/in , /by /Newsweek Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority will supply the Mexican state of Baja California with 200 liters of water per second to support Tijuana residents during the summer. This water will be delivered through an international pipeline connecting San Diego, California, to Tijuana.

“There is a greater demand when it gets hot,” said Carlos Alberto Machado Parra, director for Baja’s Public Service and Planning Commission (CESPT) in Tijuana, according to Border Report. “We always maintain this binational connection so we can supply neighborhoods that may be short on supply. “

Full Story

OPINION: Californians Will Have to Use Less Water Under State Board’s New Rules

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Kerry Jackson

It’s been said in different ways by a variety of people, but there’s more than just a grain of truth in it: If the federal bureaucracy or a socialist regime were ever put in charge of the Sahara Desert, there would eventually be a shortage of sand. This helps explain why there is such a scarcity of water in California that permanent use restrictions have been, for the first time in the state’s history, set.

On July 3, the California State Water Resources Control Board approved the rules for “Making Conservation a California Way of Life.” Under this framework, retail water suppliers are going to have to figure out how to meet the imposed “water use objective,” which “is 70% or less of the supplier’s average annual water use” in 2024-26 by July 2040.

Full Story

OPINION: California Could Lose up to 9 Million Acre-Feet of Water by 2050. Here’s What Can be Done

/in , /by /Aol.by Jake Frederico

California’s water supply is trending poorly. Unless we act now to transform how California manages its water — by passing an important bill that would update our approach — the state will soon lose some of its year-to-year supply.

By 2050, California is expected to lose between 4.6 and 9 million acre-feet of its annual water supply. In other words, by 2050 at the latest, Californians would lose access to a volume of water that is enough to supply 50-90% of all the state’s households — or to irrigate 17-33% of all the state’s farmland. Picture a volume of water as large as two Lake Shastas disappearing from the state’s water bank.

Full Story

Border Report: Rosarito Desal Plant Could Finally Get off the Ground

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Sandra Dipple

As water shortages loom in Baja California, the state’s plans for a desalination plant are back on track after years of delay.

An undeveloped 50-acre plot next to a power plant in northern Rosarito Beach – envisioned as the site of the proposed desalination facility – is now in Mexican government hands. By the end of the year, the state of Baja California expects to invite prospective developers to submit bids.

Full Story
north sd water reuse logo

North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition Recommended for Over $6 Million in Federal Funding to Further Improve Local Water Supply Reliability

/in /by

Encinitas, Calif. — On June 13, the United States Bureau of Reclamation recommended to Congress that the North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition receive over $6 million in grant funding from the federal Title XVI program to develop recycled water infrastructure in San Diego’s North County.

“This federal investment to strengthen our region’s recycled water infrastructure is crucial to meet demand and reliability,” said Representative Scott Peters. “Multi-agency projects allow us to stretch public resources and help accelerate results that will benefit the entire region.”

Download File

San Diego County Stepping up to Help Calgary Water Crisis

/in , /by /ABC 10 News by Aaron Dickens Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: Martin Coghill

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.

Full Story

Atlanta Officials Say Water Repairs Are Done After 5 Days of Outages and Service is Being Restored

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Jeff Amy and Sharon Johnson

City of Atlanta officials say workers finished repairs on a ruptured water main on Tuesday and that water problems in the city are coming to an end after five days.

The city said Tuesday night that workers had placed new pipes after a leak that sent a gushing river into the streets of the city’s Midtown neighborhood. Officials said water had been restored to a bar and a hotel immediately adjoining the leak and that they were gradually increasing pressure in the system.

Full Story

Newsom Praises Court Ruling Dismissing Environmental Groups’ Challenge of Sites Reservoir

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

California’s plan to build the state’s first new major reservoir in decades is advancing after a court rejected a challenge by environmental groups.

In the ruling last week, a Yolo County Superior Court judge sided against environmental advocates who had argued Sites Reservoir would harm the Sacramento River’s ecosystem and threaten imperiled fish species.

Full Story

Water Authority Begins Three-year Project on Oldest Aqueduct

/in , /by /The Coast News Group Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

A three-year construction project on San Diego’s oldest aqueduct is underway, with the San Diego County Water Authority leading the $66 million effort to upgrade the infrastructure. Work on the project, known as the Southern First Aqueduct Facilities Improvement Project, is slated to run through summer 2026 and is intended to retrofit 99 structures connected to two water pipelines.

Full Story