A new alternative for a treated water connection is being explored as part of the city's three-phase water infrastructure capital improvement program designed to improve the reliability, redundancy and resiliency of Poway’s water system.
Principal Civil Engineer Rob Weber updated the Poway City Council on the water infrastructure project at the Tuesday, Nov. 19 council meeting. Poway currently imports raw water from the San Diego County Water Authority, which is treated at the city’s water treatment plant before it reaches Poway water customers. This new pipeline is critical because it gives Poway an alternative means to supply treated water in the event the city’s water treatment plant is offline for maintenance.
The projected cost proved to be prohibitively high on the initial design, so staff worked with the design consultant to reassess the city’s options. Weber highlighted the new design proposal, which leverages infrastructure already in place, including an existing pipeline that provides treated water to the Ramona Municipal Water District when the San Diego County Water Authority’s Ramona pipeline is out of service. The proposed design allows Poway to obtain treated water from Ramona, with the added benefit of allowing Ramona to obtain treated water from Poway’s water treatment plant.
At the November 19 meeting, Poway City Council approved the amendment for design services and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ramona Municipal Water District. The MOU formalizes a relationship between the city and water district to develop a water exchange agreement between the two entities and cooperate on the steps needed to realize this project.