MAJOR CHANGES TO POWAY’S WATER SYSTEM IN THE WORKS

The Poway City Council approved several initial steps at Tuesday night’s meeting that could lead to a massive water improvement program for the city.

The improvement program, if completed, would be the largest capital improvement program Poway has ever undertaken, said Shadi Sami, principal civil engineer for the city.

The program consists of several parts, but would ultimately replace the city’s existing, decades-old clear well with new storage reservoirs. It would also connect the city with the San Diego Water Authority’s treated water, creating treated water pipelines, a pump station and forebay. Currently, Poway only receives raw water from the SDWA.

The new components would improve the reliability and resiliency of Poway’s water supply, diversify the city’s water supply portfolio and improve redundancy and flexibility, Sami said.

The council did not approve the program Tuesday night, but instead approved several initial steps for designing and financing the program. These included approving an agreement with Kennedy/jenks Consultants Inc. for program management services and approving use of the California State Treasurer’s debt issuance pool list.

The program has been in the works for some time, Sami said, long before the city’s boil water incident in November and December 2019, when a piece of rope in the clear well caused an incident resulting in a boil water advisory being issued for about a week.

An exact location for the new water improvement program is still being analyzed and has not been finalized, Sami said.

Work is being done to figure out how to finance the program, said Aaron Beanan, finance director. Beanan said the program cost will be more than is available in the city’s water funds and could result in the city needing to issue bonded debt to cover it. Options like loans and grants are also being pursued, he said.

The council members said they were proud of the work by city staff and pleased to see this issue being addressed.

“I’m pleased we’re addressing a problem that has been known about for decades,” said Councilman John Mullin. “I’m pleased to support it and I have faith in the team to tackle this project.”

Councilman Barry Leonard said this is a huge project, and that the current system was designed 50 years ago and managed to provide clean water for 50 years. This new program could provide water for 50 more years, he added.

Mayor Steve Vaus said he is “really proud” of what the city is undertaking and wants to hear public input on the program in the future.

The council also approved applying for the Community Development Block Grant Program, which will give the city access to $210,375 in grant funds from the state. Of that, $159,813 is in new funding and $50,562 is in unspent allocations from prior years.

The funding would be used for several local programs, including the Homeshare and Community Connections Program, North County Bridge to Housing Network and 2-1-1 San Diego.

The city will also use $157,687 of the funding for Americans with Disabilities Act improvements to Poway Community Park. These include addressing access to buildings in the park, rehabilitating one of the park’s public restrooms and making changes to pedestrian pathways between the parking areas and park amenities, according to staff.

“I’m pleased we’re addressing a problem that has been known about for decades.” John Mullin Poway City Council