Work is in full swing on the East County Advanced Water Purification Project. Three packages are in construction while two are in design.
The entire East County AWP project includes more than 30 miles of wastewater and purified water pipelines. Community impacts from construction include lane closures during work hours, no parking areas and construction equipment noise and presence.
Just north of Santee Lakes, concrete work is underway on the water recycling and solids handling facilities. About 24,000 cubic yards of concrete has been poured, marking nearly 50% of the total concrete that will be used at this site. Once complete, it’ll be enough concrete to fill 16 Olympic-sized swimming pools! The advanced water purification facility and visitor’s center are also taking shape with the installation of underground piping and conduits.
The pipeline to transport purified water from the East County AWP facility to Lake Jennings will run more than 10 miles. Roughly 1.6 miles of that has been installed. Pipeline construction is progressing on Mast Boulevard in Santee in addition to Laurel Canyon Road and Lake Jennings Park Road in Lakeside.
The roughly 7 total miles of pipelines that connect AWP to East Mission Gorge Pump Station are also being installed. So far, more than 1 mile of that has been installed with work ongoing on Fanita Parkway and north of Ganley.
The remaining 17+ miles of pipeline that make up the project are expected to begin construction in Summer 2024. The regional brine wastewater pipeline from East Mission Gorge Force Main (EMGFM) to the City of San Diego sewer includes new and rehabbed pipelines. Construction may have a future impact on pedestrian and vehicle traffic at Mission Trails Regional Park.
The final piece of the project is an energy recovery system. It is currently in the conceptual project development phase with construction slated to begin in 2026. Once complete, it’ll produce 3 megawatts of renewable energy generated from digester biogas and organic waste. This will supply up to 60% of Package 1’s electricity, saving ratepayers money!