February 3, 2026, Item #4
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
CONTACT:
SUBJECT:
Summary:
AGENDA RE PO RT City of Poway
February 3, 2026
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City C)>~I
Eric Heidemann, Director of Public Works fr;" '
CITY COUNCIL
Robert Weber, Principal Civil Engineer, Public Works -Utilities /h) (858) 668-4717 or [email protected] \J'""
Water Infrastructure Improvement Program Update
This report presents a background and status update on the Water Infrastructure Improvement Program and the associated individual projects, their status, and a look ahead of upcoming activities.
Discussion:
With the goal of increasing the reliability of drinking water for water customers now and for generations to come, the City of Poway (City) is undertaking its largest capital improvement program in the City's history referred to as the Water Infrastructure Improvement Program (Program). The Program was presented to the City Council as an informational item, to provide updates and to request approval of the various components on March 18, 2020; June 16, 2020; October 20, 2020; November 17, 2020; March 16, 2021; April 20, 2021;June 1, 2021;July 20, 2021; August 17, 2021; April 5, 2022; October 18, 2022; February 7, 2023; May 16, 2023; August 15, 2023; September 19, 2023; November 19, 2024; April 15, 2025; and September 16, 2025. A comprehensive summary of the project background and status including photos and time lapse construction video can be found on the project webpage: https://poway.org/water-projects.
Program Overview:
The City inherited its water distribution system when it was incorporated as a city in 1980. Drinking water health and safety standards have evolved over time and while the City conscientiously budgeted for water infrastructure improvements, this Program addresses key improvements identified in a mutual agreement with the State of California Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water (DDW). It includes the following three projects:
Phase I -Clearwell Bypass Project
The Clearwell Bypass Project consists of temporary and permanent bypass pipelines, a temporary pump station, a pressure regulating station and two temporary bypass tanks. Each tank has a storage capacity of 1.4 million gallons (MG). The bypass pipelines, pump station and pressure regulating 1 of 8
February 3, 2026, Item #4
facility
are
located
within
City
property
at
the
Lester
J.
Berglund
Water
Treatment
Plant
(Berglund
WTP)
site,
as
well
as
the
Public
Works
Operations
Yard
and
parking
lot.
The
two
temporary
bypass
tanks
are
located
on
the
softball
field
at
Lake
Poway
Park.
Construction
of
the
bypass
system
allowed
the
original
Clearwell
to
be
taken
offline
for
replacement.
Phase
II -Clearwell
Replacement
Project
The
Clearwell
Replacement
Project
consists
of
replacing
the
1964-vintage
lined
and
covered
embankment
style
Clearwell
with
two
new
4-million-gallon
circular
prestressed
concrete
tanks.
The
original
Clearwell
had
reached
the
end
of
its
useful
life
and
needed
replacement
to
maintain
reliable
service
to
residents
within
the
City's
service
area.
The
overflow
structure
of
the
Clearwell
will
also
be
replaced
with
new
structures
designed
with
industry
standard
air
gaps.
Phase
Ill
-Treated
Water
Facilities
Project
The
Treated
Water
Facilities
(TWF)
Project
provides
the
City
with
its
first
treated
water
connection
to
the
SDCWA
system
and
is
a cooperative
project
with
the
Ramona
Municipal
Water
District
(Ramona)
and
the
San
Diego
County
Water
Authority
(SDCWA).
The
project
will
include
a
new
treated
water
connection
and
flow
control facility
on
Espola
Road,
a new
bidirectional
treated
water
pipeline,
a pump
station
and
forebay,
and
a
transmission
pipeline
providing
redundancy
to
the
existing
single
transmission
pipeline
on
Lake
Poway
Road
.
Discussion: Phase
I -
Clearwell
Bypass
Project
Phase
I of
the
Program,
the
Clearwell
Bypass
Project,
is
an
enabling
project
for
subsequent
phases
of
work.
A
project
overview
map
is
provided
as
Attachment
A.
The
original
Clearwell
was
an
embankment
style
lined
and
covered
facility
constructed
in
1964.
There
was
no
means
of
bypassing
the
facility
to
construct
the
replacement
Clearwell,
hence,
construction
of
the
bypass
project,
consisting
of
above
and
below
ground
pipelines,
a temporary
pump
station,
a temporary
pressure
regulating
station
and
two
temporary
bolted-steel
tanks
was
completed
in
September
2022
.
The
project
includes
a
permanent
36-inch
diameter
cement
mortar
lined
and
coated
(CML&C)
steel
bypass
pipeline,
a
temporary
pump
station
to
pump
water
up
to
the
two
1.4 MG
temporary
tanks,
temporary
24-inch
diameter
bypass
piping
and
a pressure
control
facility.
The
bypass
system
operates
by
sending
treated
water
through
the
permanent
bypass
pipeline
to
both
the
distribution
system
and
the
temporary
pump
station
from
where
the
temporary
tanks
are
filled,
and
water
is
then
drawn
out
of
the
temporary
tanks
through
the
pressure
control facility
and
out
into
the
distribution
system
in
response
to
demand.
System
Operators
at
Berglund
WTP
control
the
overall
rate
of
flow
through
the
bypass
to
mimic
the
deeper
volumetric
fill
and
draw
cycles
that
were
performed
by
the
original
Clearwell.
The
bypass
system
was
tested
and
has
been
successfully
operating
since
November
2022.
This
infrastructure
enables
bypassing
the
existing
Clearwell
and
facilitated
taking
it offline
for
replacement.
The
Clearwell
Bypass
Project
was
completed
under
budget.
Phase
II -Clearwell
Replacement
Project
The
Clearwell
Replacement
Project
replaces
the
former
Clearwell
with
two
4 MG
circular
prestressed
concrete
tanks.
A
project
overview
map
is
provided
as
Attachment
B.
The
dual
tanks
provide
redundancy
and
operational
flexibility,
allowing
one
tank
to
be
taken
offline
for
future
maintenance
and
repairs
while
the
other
provides
continuous,
uninterrupted
service.
The
prestressed
concrete
tanks
also
provide
superior
seismic
performance
and
a
longer
asset
life
of
approximately
75 years.
With
this
project,
the
overflow
structures
will
also
be
constructed
with
physically
separated
air
gaps,
in
accordance
with
the
agreement
with
DDW.
This
phase
of
the
program
began
in
January
2024
with
demolition
of
the
existing Clearwell,
demolition
and
removal
of
conflicting
sections
of
old
pipe,
mass
2 of
8 February 3, 2026, Item #4
grading and earthwork along with soil processing for subsequent onsite reuse of material, realignment of two large diameter storm drains outside the footprint of the new Clearwell tanks, construction of site retaining walls, construction of a new drain vault and outlet control valve vault, installation of new CML&C steel pipe, subgrade preparation and liner installation, concrete tank construction and interconnecting pipelines. The Clearwell Replacement project is currently under budget, approximately 95% complete, and on schedule for commissioning in Spring of 2026.
Phase Ill -Treated Water Facilities Project
The TWF Project will provide the City with its first treated water supply. A project overview map is provided as Attachment C. The project will fulfill two important reliability and redundancy principles:
(1) provide a secondary source of drinking water to the City in the event of either an interruption to the untreated supply or unplanned outage at Berglund WTP, and (2) allow for planned outages at Berglund WTP to facilitate maintenance and rehabilitation work. Future maintenance and rehabilitation work at Berglund WTP is not currently within the scope of the Program and the TWF project is an important enabling project toward this goal. Through a series of iterations, the TWF project design was refined by staff and the program management consultant to lower the project cost that was developed during the original planning phase. The project consists of the following:
• New Flow Control Facility (FCF) on Espola Road adjacent to RAM-3 and designated as the POW- 6 FCF.
• New 30-inch diameter bidirectional pipeline in Espola Road. • New forebay and pump station on Lake Poway Road designated as Pump Station No. 16. • 36-inch redundant pipeline on Lake Poway Road.
• Abandonment of existing 24 and 27-inch diameter pipelines as well as the RAM-2 FCF.
The TWF project will provide the City with treated water during SDCWA's future Crossover Pipeline rehabilitation project as well as serve as the permanent treated water connection for overall redundancy and to allow Berglund WTP to be taken offline for maintenance and repairs. The TWF project provides a redundant source of supply for the City and does not replace Berglund WTP. Also, the project will allow the City to provide locally treated water to Ramona either on the SDCWA's behalf (when the SDCWA's Ramona pipeline is out of service) or by direct agreement between the City and Ramona. The three agencies have provisionally agreed on a cost share arrangement to fund the TWF project.
PWIIP Program Cost Summary:
Project Cost
Clearwell Bypass Project
Initial Projected Cost $10,200,000
Actual Cost $9,300,000
Variance ($900,000)
Clearwell Replacement Project
Initial Projected Cost $39,400,000
Estimated Actual Cost $37,400,000
Estimated Variance ($2,000,000)
Treated Water Facilities Project
Total Current Projected Cost $49,370,000
Anticipated Rep. Darrell Issa Grant ($1,000,000)
POW-6 FCF (SDCWA Funded) ($7,000,000)
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February 3, 2026, Item #4
Anticipated Ramona MWD ($1,500,000)
Contribution for Espola Road Pipeline
Revised Projected Cost (Poway Only) $39,870,000
Current Projected Program Cost: $86,570,000
Poway's current projected cost for the TWF Project includes an anticipated cost-share contribution from Ramona in the amount of $1,500,000 which was established based on the proportional linear footage of new pipeline in Espola Road that will replace Ramona's existing pipe from the RAM-2 FCF to the RAM-3 FCF. The SDCWA will separately fund the design and construction of the POW-6 FCF which is currently estimated to cost $7,000,000. These anticipated contributions are being negotiated among the three agencies.
Related Projects -Interconnections with the City of San Diego:
In accordance with the City's agreement with DDW, two treated water interconnections to the City of San Diego's system will be constructed. Emergency Interconnection No. 1 is located on Avenida La Valencia at the Bridle Trail near Pomerado Road and Emergency Interconnection No. 2 is located on Poway Road from Springhurst Drive in San Diego to Francine Terrace in Poway. These projects, together with the TWF project, will provide treated water in the event of an unplanned outage affecting Berglund WTP.
Next Steps/Look Ahead:
The Program will continue with anticipated major milestone events over the coming year as follows:
• Commissioning the new Clearwells: Spring of 2026.
• Start of Construction of Emergency Interconnection No. 1: Late Spring 2026. • Selection of Construction Management Consultant for the TWF project: Summer 2026. • Completion of CEQA for the TWF project: Summer 2026.
• Completion of Design for Emergency Interconnection No. 2: Fall 2026. • Restoration of the Lake Poway softball field: Fall 2026. • Completion of Design for the TWF project: Fall 2026.
• Selection of Construction Contractor for the TWF project: Winter 2026-27.
Staff will continue to keep the City Council informed of project status and developments.
Recommended Action:
This is an informational item and there is no recommended action.
Environmental Review:
This action is not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Fiscal Impact:
None.
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February 3, 2026, Item #4
Public
Notification:
None. Attachments: A.
Figure
1 -
Clearwell
Bypass
Project
B.
Figure
2 -
Clearwell
Replacement
Project
C.
Figure
3 -
Treated
Water
Facilities
Project
Reviewed/
Approved
By:
Assistant
City
Manager
5 of
8 Reviewed
By
:
Alan
Fenstermacher
City
Attorney
Ap
~)
Chris
Ha
in
City
Manager
February 3, 2026, Item #4
FIGURE 1
6 of8 ATTACHMENT A
.L.ElilliO.
--Existing Water Pipeline
--Existing Storm Drain
....... Proposed Buried Water Pipeline
--Proposed Above-Ground Water Pipeline
--Proposed Above-Ground overflow Pipeline
February 3, 2026, Item #4
7 of8
FIGURE 2
4.0 MG
10:,210· -
SWD: 16.5'
FFE: 849
4.0 MG
ID: 210'
SWD: 16.5'
FFE: 849
ATTACHMENT B
February 3, 2026, Item #4
OPOSED
SDC
FCF&
POWAY
WATER
FACI
8 of8
FIGURE
3 ATTACHMENT
C