Supes OK Wine Country upgrade
$9M in COVID-19 relief funding will expand area's sewer lines and let more wineries come in
More than wine will be flowing in Temecula Valley Wine Country thanks to $9 million in coronavirus relief funds.
Riverside County supervisors Tuesday approved spending coronavirus relief bill money to expand Wine Country sewer service, a move intended to improve water quality and open the door for more wineries. Another $1 million will improve water pressure in unincorporated areas near Hemet.
“Riverside County is about to make its largest investment in Wine Country to date,” Supervisor Chuck Washington, who represents the wine country and Hemet, said in a video that aired at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
Washington requested the money, which comes from $479 million the federal government is sending to the county via the rescue plan. That’s on top of $431 million the county got from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Securities Act.
The rescue plan and CARES Act were intended to help Americans and local governments struggling in the pandemic. In Riverside County, COVID-19 funds bought testing supplies and personal protective equipment, helped balance the budget, saved renters from eviction and kept small businesses afloat.
The county also set aside relief money to tackle infrastructure needs. Congress passed the rescue plan “to help local governments to improve public health and promote economic recovery from the devastating impacts of COVID 19,” Joe Pradetto, Washington’s chief of staff, said via email. “The sewer projects in Wine Country do both.”
The pandemic cost the county more than 17,000 tourism jobs, according to a news release from Washington’s office.
“These investments in wine country will help recover a portion of the lost jobs and set the stage
for further job creation,” the release said.
Washington said the sewer projects are part of a $20 million public investment in Wine Country, an unincorporated area east of Temecula known for balloon rides, scenic wedding venues and bustling tourism on weekends.
In 2014, the board passed a Wine Country master plan that envisioned more wineries, hotels and restaurants. The county built a roundabout to ease traffic flow and in December, supervisors approved a financing district that uses rising property tax income to fund more infrastructure.
Wine Country sewer service was on the drawing board for years with the first pipes coming to the region before 2016.
About $4 million in COVID-19 dollars will pay for sewer lines along Anza and De Portola roads in southern Wine Country. The Eastern Municipal Water District will build and maintain the lines, which are expected to cost $10.3 million.
The other project uses $5 million in COVID-19 funds so Eastern can design, build and maintain sewer lines along Rancho California Road, Glen Oaks Road, Warren Road and East Benton Road. The project’s total cost is projected at $8.6 million.
Besides paving the way for economic growth — 16 development projects held up by the lack of sewer service will be able to move forward, Washington said — the two projects will improve water quality by reducing the number of septic tanks contaminating groundwater, Washington said in a memo to colleagues.
The Hemet-area project, also in partnership with Eastern, will build a new pumping station to bolster water pressure and capacity from 200 gallons per minute to 600 gallons per minute for customers east of Diamond Valley Lake. The county is kicking in $1.4 million in COVID-19 money for that project, which is expected to cost $3.6 million.
The Wine Country and Hemet-area projects are expected to be finished by December 2026.