DATE: May 7, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Water Utilities Department
TITLE: CONTINUATION OF EMERGENCY WORK TO REPAIR THE MESA LOMA WATER MAIN AT LOMA ALTA CREEK
RECOMMENDATION
title
Staff recommends that the City Council determine that there is a need to continue emergency work to repair the 18-inch Mesa Loma Water Main.
body
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
On January 18, 2024, the City detected a decrease in water pressure within the system. Staff isolated a segment of the pipeline crossing Loma Alta Creek and the North County Transit District (NCTD) railroad tracks as the likely source of the issue. Staff was able to us the Mesa Loma Pump Station to provide system stability while staff worked to locate the break.
Since discovery of the issue, the City has performed several field investigations, land surveying, and internal pipe investigations to pinpoint the location of the leak. To address environmental and regulatory challenges, the City retained Helix Environmental Planning, Inc. in July 2024, with CEQA compliance estimated to take 9 to 12 months. Additional field investigations and an internal pipeline condition assessment (CCTV) were conducted to locate the break. A video of pipe interior confirmed two defects in need of repair-one within Loma Alta Creek and another at the top of a slope. Guida Surveying was contracted in early 2025 to stake the defect locations above-ground while Helix conducted biological and aquatic surveys.
In January 2025, the City initiated the necessary work needed to secure emergency repair permit applications with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). Permits were finalized and submitted in March 2025 for review. Once the emergency permits are approved, construction would need to start within two weeks from notice of approval.
On March 13, 2025, under the City's emergency procurement policy, the City Manager provided approval to use a pre-qualifie...
Click here for full text