HELIX WATER DISTRICT WINS $10.3 MILLION STATE GRANT

The Helix Water District has been awarded $10.3 million in grant funds by the California Department of Water Resources for the district’s drought resilience and drinking water supply reliability project.

The district was one of 26 California agencies, and the only one in San Diego County, to receive a portion of the $217 million in grants awarded in this round of funding.

The project involves four upgrades to infrastructure needed for the East County Advanced Water Purification

project. This will purify recycled water to provide a drought-proof water supply for up to 30 percent of East County’s needs.

The infrastructure upgrades will allow the district to move, store, treat and deliver the new water supply. The work includes modernizing the Chet Harritt Pump Station in La Mesa, building a new aeration system in Lake Jennings, adding a large flow meter at the R.M. Levy Water Treatment Plant in Lakeside and improving piping in the inlet/outlet tower at Lake Jennings.

The district had planned to pay for the anticipated $22.8 million project with funds from water rates, plus part of an $18.9 million lowinterest loan from the EPA. Now, the district can use the state grant to help reduce the financial effect on its customers, 44 percent of whom live in disadvantaged communities.

“We are thrilled,” said Helix Board President Kathleen Hedberg. “The funding will help the district develop local, drought-proof water supplies that reduce our reliance on imported water sources.”

The grant is funded through the Department of Water Resources’ Urban Drought Relief Grant program, which was authorized by the legislature in 2021, during California’s second driest year on record. On June 8, the agency announced grant funding for projects statewide to help communities become more drought-resilient and prepare them for a hotter, drier future.

Helix is responsible for tap water in East County. The district provides water treatment for a population of 500,000 and distributes water to 277,000 people in La Mesa, El Cajon, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley and other unincorporated areas.

laura.groch@sduniontribune.com