DATE: April 9, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Water Utilities Department
TITLE: APPROVE CONTINUATION OF EMERGENCY WORK TO REPAIR THE MESA LOMA 18-INCH WATER MAIN AT LOMA ALTA CREEK
RECOMMENDATION
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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, and appropriate $500,000 from the Water Fixed Asset Replacement fund unrestricted fund balance.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
On January 18, 2024, the City detected a decrease in water pressure within the system, triggering the need to activate the Mesa Loma Booster Pump Station to maintain adequate service to the affected pressure zone. City operations 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. Despite challenges posed by heavy rain and excessive groundwater, staff maintained system pressure by operating the Mesa Loma Pump Station with one operational pump initially, allowing for temporary system stability while staff worked to locate the break. However, heavy rainfall and high groundwater levels complicated early efforts to determine the extent of the damage.
As the City continued its investigation, it became evident that the leak was located within an environmentally sensitive area and potentially under NCTD railroad tracks, requiring extensive environmental review and permitting. To address these challenges, the City engaged Helix Environmental Planning, Inc., in July 2024 to assess the regulatory requirements. The firm determined that California Environmental Quality Act compliance would take approximately nine to twelve months, further extending the timeline. During this period, additional field investigations and an internal pipeline condition assessment (CCTV) were conducted, confirming two defects in need of repair-one within Loma Alta Creek and another at the top of a slope....
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