Item Number: 23
City Council / Board of Directors
Written Communications
Meeting of: July 21, 2026
Submitted By:
Doug Mathews, Director of Public Works and Water
Fredy Bonilla, City Engineer
Subject:
2026 Water Master Plan Update - Approve and Adopt
Recommendation:
That the Honorable Victorville Water District Board of Directors approve and adopt the 2026 Water Master Plan Update.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact resulting from the adoption of the 2026 Water Master Plan Update.
Strategic Plan Goal:
This item aligns with “Goal E Invest in Infrastructure” in the City of Victorville Strategic Plan 2023-2026 by establishing a safe, reliable, and sustainable domestic water supply for the future. The 2026 Water Master Plan is the Victorville Water District’s long-term roadmap that helps guide new infrastructure, adapt to regulatory changes, manage budgets, and meet environmental impacts.
Background:
The Victorville Water District (District) provides water service to approximately 39,037 customer connections, serving a population of approximately 148,323 within its 85-square mile service area, including some unincorporated areas of the County of San Bernardino.
Proposed developments and in-fill growth within the District’s service area offer significant potential for growth.
The primary purpose of a Water Master Plan (WMP) is to prepare for growth expected within the District’s boundaries with an adaptive framework to respond to changing conditions; identify existing and future system deficiencies, including fire flow; establish rehabilitation and replacement needs to maintain aging infrastructure; develop a 4 8
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prioritized list of capital improvement projects, including anticipated costs, to address the deficiencies and maintain the condition and capacity of the distribution system; and provide realistic estimates of revenue requirements to support budgeting and rate setting.
The District’s previous WMP was completed by Water Systems Consulting, Inc. (WSC) in 2021. Based on recommendations from the 2021 WMP, the District completed many significant water system improvements during the recent five-year rate study period, including but not limited to the following:
•Construction of the Southern California Logistics Airport (SCLA) Flightline Pipeline, which runs along the flightline beneath the 12-inch thick concrete tarmac and serves many customers at SCLA. The old pipeline experienced failure in 2018; replacement with this new pipeline substantially reduced the District’s risk of future costly repairs and impacts to customers at SCLA.
•Construction of a Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) at Mojave Drive and Amethyst Road which created a second water feed to SCLA, resulting in a more reliable domestic water system.
•Construction of block walls at Well Site Nos. 137, 203, 204, 207, 208, 209, and 212. The installation of block walls topped with 4-foot-tall anti-climb iron rod spikes and automated gates enhanced security at the District’s well sites, which helps protect public health and reduce occurrences of vandalism. •Multiple Pipeline Replacement projects in Old Town Victorville, which replaced over 11,000 linear feet of aging, predominantly steel, small-diameter water pipelines that had become increasingly leak-prone. The new, larger-diameter pipelines provide a substantial increase in available fire flow throughout Old Town, enhancing the Fire Department’s ability to protect public safety. •Completed a Pressure Zone Change in the square mile area located at northeast corner of Bear Valley Road and Balsam Road, which involved reconfiguring the existing water system and transitioning the area to a different pressure zone that provides a water pressure increase of approximately 50 pounds per square inch (psi). This increase resolved concerns with deficient low pressure and inadequate fire-flow, significantly improving the level of service for many customers in this area.
•Completed a Water Service Line Replacement Project in the Golden Triangle (Area 6), replacing leak-prone polyethylene (plastic) water service lines with durable copper service lines to reduce water loss and improve service reliability. •Continued implementation of the District’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system by installing meter endpoints, communications towers, and supporting network equipment required to fully activate AMI capabilities. While nearly all water meters had previously been replaced with AMI-compatible meters, this multi-year project focused on deploying the communications infrastructure and data management systems needed to enable full system functionality. The completed system now provides near real-time water usage information, allowing the District 4 8
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to identify customer usage patterns, detect potential leaks earlier, improve operational efficiency, and enhance customer service while helping customers better manage water consumption and utility costs.
•Rehabilitated 12 groundwater wells through removal and inspection of pumping equipment, refurbishment or replacement of components, well rehabilitation, and reinstallation to restore reliability and extend service life.
Additionally, the design of approximately 8-miles of pipeline replacement projects is currently underway. These improvements include pressure rezoning in various areas throughout the City to improve pressure and fire flow for additional customers and the replacement of aging small diameter pipes to reduce leaks and improve fire flow.
Since the completion of the 2021 WMP, the District has made substantial improvements to the water system and has continued to implement its water conservation program to help existing customers reduce their water use. Additionally, the State of California has enacted more stringent water conservation standards that are expected to further reduce customer water use in the future. The District has also experienced changes in projected development patterns, with increased activity in multi-family residential, commercial, and industrial development. As a result, the District needed to update the existing WMP to reflect these changing conditions. In communities such as Victorville, where substantial growth and development continue to occur, updating the WMP approximately every five years is a common planning practice. The timing of this update also intentionally coincides with the District’s five-year Water Rate Study, ensuring both efforts are based on the most current demand projections, growth assumptions, and system planning information.
Discussion:
On May 6, 2025, the Victorville Water District Board of Directors awarded a professional services contract to WSC to update the previous 2021 WMP. This 2026 WMP updates the 2021 WMP general planning information, population projections, and future water demand projections, and aligns with the recently adopted 2025 Urban Water Management Plan. The 2026 WMP planning horizon spans through 2035 and addresses existing system deficiencies and facility requirements to provide reliable service for existing customers and meet the projected increased water demands over the next ten years. The update also incorporates relevant information and recommendations from several separate planning documents and technical studies, including the SCLA Specific Plan and a recent pressure zone study for the undeveloped northeast portion of the District’s service area. The updated water demand projections in the 2026 WMP will be integrated into the upcoming 2026 Sewer Master Plan Update and planned Recycled Water Master Plan Update to support truly integrated planning across the water, sewer, and recycled water systems. This master plan update also includes an update to the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Master Plan. While the SCADA Master Plan’s findings and recommendations are incorporated into the 2026 WMP, the full SCADA Master Plan is maintained as a separate confidential appendix to help protect the security of the District’s water system and public health. 4 8
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This WMP also provides details of a proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for the water system, including phasing of projects and capital requirements. The planned CIP projects in the WMP were integrated into the recently adopted Water Rate Study, with a focus on CIP projects that will be prioritized over the next five-year period starting from fiscal year 2026-2027 through 2031-2032. The District values the importance of establishing a comprehensive rehabilitation and replacement program for assets so that they can be maintained and/or replaced proactively to avoid accumulating a backlog of needs that could lead to service interruptions and/or sudden significant impacts to ratepayers. For each of the following major facility groups, factors such as age, expected useful life, and the District’s knowledge of condition were considered to establish appropriate rehabilitation and replacement (R&R) needs:
•Distribution system pipelines;
•Storage reservoirs;
•Groundwater wells;
•Booster pump stations;
•Water treatment plants;
•Pressure reducing valve stations;
•Back-up generators;
•Water meters and service lines; and
•SCADA equipment.
Additionally, this document serves to identify additional infrastructure necessary to accommodate future growth, which is used to evaluate and establish connection fees and serve as a guide for the District and the development community when planning for new projects.
The completion of the 2026 WMP represents a major milestone for the District. Since the last Water Rate Study, the District has demonstrated a commitment to achieving the goals set forth by implementing (constructing) the recommended water infrastructure improvements as listed above; and will continue to implement infrastructure improvements in the future years in alignment with the recently adopted Water Rate Study. A complete version of the 2026 Water Master Plan, including all non-confidential appendices is available at the Engineering counter at City Hall.
Staff recommends that the Victorville Water District Board of Directors approve and adopt the 2026 Water Master Plan Update.
Staff remains available for any questions the Board may have.
Prepared By:
Melissa Krejckant, Public Works and Water Administrative Manager Attachments: A. 2026 Water Master Plan Update (no appendices included)