Conservation urged temporarily during pipeline maintenance

FALLBROOK — The Fallbrook Public Utility District (FPUD) is asking customers to conserve water, especially outdoors, as FPUD and several other water agencies in the San Diego region will have their imported water service discontinued for 11 days beginning November 27.

FPUD’s water wholesalers, the Metropolitan Water District and the San Diego County Water Authority, will be completing the critical expansion of the Lake Skinner Filtration Plant, which provides treated water to all of San Diego and most of Riverside counties.

Though the majority of FPUD customers should not notice the shutdown because FPUD can dip into Red Mountain Reservoir, FPUD is specifically requesting growers in the De Luz, Sachse, Toyon Heights, Sandia Creek and portions of Gheen service areas irrigate heavily through November 23, the week preceding the shutdown. This will allow FPUD three days to refill reservoirs prior to the shutdown. If possible, growers in these areas should try not to irrigate again until the shutdown has ended on December 8. Customers in those areas have received special letters requesting their cooperation.

Because of their location, customers in those areas usually get their water straight off the wholesaler’s aqueduct, but during the shutdown, their water will be rerouted through an emergency system of smaller capillary-like pipelines, delivering the water at a reduced capacity.

This shouldn’t be a problem with conservation; however, episodes of low pressure will occur in those areas during times of heavy watering.

During the last shutdown in February, uncharacteristically hot weather resulted in growers there irrigating as if it were summer and water supplies to those areas were quickly depleted. The unfortunate result was that FPUD was forced to place flow restrictors and locks on growers’ water meters there. This extraordinary step was necessary to ensure sufficient water was available to homes there, for public health and safety.

During the shutdown, the district will be relying solely on water stored in the district’s 11 reservoirs. Customers can check the progress of FPUD’s reservoir storage levels for the De Luz areas during the shutdown at http://www.fpud.com daily at 10:30 a.m.

Residents with any questions or concerns may call the district office at (760) 728-1125, ext. 99.