5-MILE JAMACHA PIPELINE PROJECT COMPLETED $1 MILLION UNDER BUDGET

Part of $50 million water infrastructure investment in East County

Spring Valley, CA - The Otay Water District (the District) has announced the completion of the Jamacha Road Pipeline Project in San Diego’s East County. The more than five-mile long project was not only the largest capital improvement project in the District’s 54-year history, but also one of the most challenging.

The project involved the installation of a large diameter pipeline along heavily traveled streets and through sensitive and densely populated East County neighborhoods. Despite the challenges, the District completed the project on time and more than $1 million under budget.

The $50 million infrastructure development project also included the construction of two 10 million gallon water storage reservoirs in Rancho San Diego, replacement of older PVC pipes and the repaving of streets in El Cajon and Rancho San Diego. “The District is focused on securing more reliable water supplies,” said Jaime Bonilla, President of the Otay Water District’s Board of Directors. “With this new pipeline and new reservoirs, more local water is now available, which is vital during times of emergency in this fire-prone area.”

The completion of the pipeline is a key element of the East County Regional Treated Water Improvement Program (RTWIP), a region-wide effort to improve water treatment capacity in San Diego’s East County. The San Diego County Water Authority, Lakeside Water District, Padre Dam

Municipal Water District, Otay Water District and Helix Water District are all implementing elements of the program. Those elements include upgrades to flow control facilities, and the construction of new pump stations, reservoirs, and pipelines to distribute locally treated water to customers.

The Jamacha Road Pipeline installation began in September of 2009 near Cuyamaca College in Rancho San Diego. The 36-inch diameter pipeline now connects the Otay Water District’s two recently completed 10 million gallon water storage reservoirs to the San Diego County Water Authority’s (CWA) Flow Control Facility 14 (FCF 14), located in El Cajon. Through that facility, an additional 12 million gallons of water per day at peak periods and 16 million gallons at off-peak periods is available from Helix Water District’s R.M. Levy Water Treatment Plant. CWA doubled the capacity of FCF 14 as part of the RTWIP and to accommodate Otay’s new pipeline and the greater amount of water moving through the system.

The two independent sources of water – CWA and Helix’s RM Levy Plant – give Otay customers an even more secure and dependable supply of drinking water. Each water source has the capability of serving the needs of the more than 65,000 residents in Otay’s northern service area, which includes Spring Valley, La Presa, Rancho San Diego and Jamul. The two new reservoirs in Rancho San Diego also hold enough water to sustain these communities in the event of a 10 day-long emergency outage or to aid in wildfire relief.

For more information on the Jamacha Pipeline Project, visit www.jamachapipeline.com.

The Otay Water District is a public agency distributing water to more than 206,000 customers within 125.5 square miles of southeastern San Diego County, including the communities of Spring Valley, Jamul, La Presa, Rancho San Diego, eastern Chula Vista and Otay Mesa. For more information on the District visit www.otaywater.gov.