Pipeline work planned for Rancho Bernardo, Poway
The San Diego County Water Authority will begin aqueduct maintenance next spring, with the $66 million project expected to be complete in summer 2026. The project area will include pipelines that run through Rancho Bernardo and Poway.
The Southern First Aqueduct Facilities Improvement Project will focus on 99 aqueduct support structures in streets, along access roads and within utility easements. There are two 48inchand 54-inch-diameter critical regional pipelines involved, officials said.
The plan is for one pipeline to be taken offline at a time, according to engineering manager Brent Fountain, who spoke at the Rancho Bernardo Planning Board’s meeting Oct. 19. The project is “very proactive” because it will be replacing some of the concrete vault structures and doing other infrastructure work to components, such as air vents and pump wells, before it becomes absolutely necessary, Fountain said.
One of the pipelines was installed in 1947, the other in 1954.
The First Aqueduct provides treated and untreated water from just south of the Riverside/San Diego county line to 11 local water agencies. It spans 35 miles, going from Fallbrook to the San Vicente Reservoir in Lakeside, and is capable of transporting up to 120 million gallons of water daily. The aqueduct serves 727,500 customers, according to a SDCWA fact sheet.
Fountain said the work should extend the pipeline’s useful lifespan by at least 50 years.
When speaking to the meeting, Fountain focused on the six RB locations where work will occur — four in The Trails neighborhood and two in the Oaks North Marbella neighborhood.
Work planned for 2024-25 on Pipeline 2 will be done on air valves in a residential driveway on Polvera Avenue and at a home at Aquamarina Point. There is also a location south of Polvera with a pump well. Another pump well at Calle Estepona and Camino Ramillette is also included.
In the 2025-26 phase for Pipeline 1, the work will be on an air valve on a Polvera Avenue access road, and a pump well at Calle Estepona and Camino Ramillette.
Construction, which will be limited to the vault locations and not require trenching to replace the pipeline, will involve some road and lane closures and possible detours, Fountain said. Impacted businesses and residents will be notified as will community groups such as the planning board as work progresses.
Depending on what exists at each site, the excavation areas can vary from 10-feet square to 25-feet square, Fountain said. If there is a roundshaped vault it will be replaced with a square one, with the new boxes being larger to meet current requirements. For example, a 5-by-6-foot box will be replaced with one that is 8 by 10 feet. The pump well south of Polvera Avenue is one such location.
There are 31 structures in Poway also slated for work during the two phases, according to SDCWA officials.
Along Old Winemaster Road there are two air valves and two blow-offs in the Wine Country area.
At The Farm, there are two pipeline access points on St. Andrews Drive and two air valves on Cloudcroft Drive. The neighborhood, which is under construction, also has three flow control facility interconnect and a pipeline air valve, along with two blow-offs in the southern area of The Farm.
As for the Bridlewood neighborhood, two air valves are located at a site north of Summersage Road and two pump wells are south of Summersage Road. There are two pipeline turn outs and a pipeline access point in the Lake Poway Road/Espola Road area, two pipeline access points south of Sandhill Road and a flow control facility and other pipeline infrastructure in the area.
In South Poway, there are two pump wells at Crocker Road and Golden Sunset Lane, two air valves at the east end of Mountain Road, two pump wells south of Ortez Place and two air valves north of Espola Road and Poway Road.
According to Fountain, one pipeline can be taken offline at a time without impacting water supply because there is “a lot of extra capacity in the pipeline.”