Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Despite pandemic, 2020 was a very productive year for the FPUD

Without a doubt, 2020 has been quite a year. For many of us, it's a year we'd all probably just soon forget.

But, believe it or not, there have been many bright spots. Some very bright spots, actually.

Here in Fallbrook, for example, we've made tremendous progress this year to make our water supply more reliable and affordable for our customers.

After years of discussion and litigation, construction of the Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project is now in full swing. The project, a partnership between the Fallbrook Public Utility District and Camp Pendleton, will create a local water supply by capturing the water that runs through the river instead of just letting it flow into the ocean.

Here's how it will work:

Water from the Santa Margarita River will be collected at the Marine base and stored temporarily underground. Some of the water will be kept for use on the base while some will be pumped back to Fallbrook through a new pipeline. Here it will be processed in a new treatment facility, which is now under construction on Alturas Road along with a new pump station and reservoir. Once treated, the water will be distributed to Fallbrook water customers.

The project is on track to be completed by 2022. When it opens, it will produce, on average, almost 50% of Fallbrook's water supply, reducing our need to buy water from outside wholesalers.

Also, this year, our effort to part ways with the San Diego County Water Authority – which has raised water costs considerably over the past decade – is picking up steam. The process is called detachment.

If detachment goes forward, instead of continuing to purchase our water from the Water Authority, we have signed an agreement, and we will purchase water from the Eastern Municipal Water District in southern Riverside County at a savings of $3-4 million a year.

The water supply from Eastern would also be as reliable as the water we're receiving today from the Water Authority.

In March, we submitted our detachment application to the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission. LAFCO is a group of elected and appointed officials from around the county who are tasked with deciding issues regarding jurisdictional boundaries like annexations and detachments involving cities and special districts, including water districts.

LAFCO has created an advisory committee to review our application and make a recommendation to the full commission. The commission could vote on this as soon as this summer. If they approve it, the matter would ultimately be subject to a vote within Fallbrook.

Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a very productive year for our district. We're very grateful to our employees for all their hard work, and to you, our customers, for your steady support.

As the year winds down, we're now setting our sights on 2021, which should be another fruitful year. Along with our detachment effort and other initiatives, we will begin planning our district's 100th Anniversary celebration in 2022. Stay tuned, there's a lot more to come on this.

 

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