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

Hoch to design Rainbow's Hutton and Turner pump stations

Hoch Consulting has been given the Rainbow Municipal Water District contract to design the Hutton and Turner pump stations.

A 5-0 Rainbow board vote Jan. 26 awarded Hoch Consulting a professional services contract for $166,149 while also making a finding that the design portion of the project is not subject to California Environmental Quality Act review.

Both pump stations are along the San Diego County Water Authority's Second Aqueduct route just west of Interstate 15. The Hutton pump station is near the Old Highway 395 bridge north of West Lilac and the Turner pump station is south of Camino Del Rey.

The SDCWA annually shuts down portions of the Second Aqueduct for inspection and maintenance as does the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The CWA takes over operation of the aqueduct from MWD approximately six miles south of the Riverside County border. During those shutdowns Rainbow rents, installs, and operates temporary pump stations in up to four locations to supply water to the Hutton, Turner, and Gopher Canyon tanks.

"Whenever the Water Authority does a shutdown, we have to put up temporary pumps. These are noisy and expensive," said Rainbow general manager Tom Kennedy.

The Robert A. Weese Filtration Plant is owned by the City of Oceanside and operated by Oceanside's Water Utilities Department but is physically located in the Rainbow service area off of Silverleaf Lane in the Gopher Canyon area. In August 2017, the Rainbow board authorized district staff to proceed with the design for an interconnection to the Weese Filtration Plant. The eventual design contract included the replacement of the pumps which supply the Hutton and Turner tanks.

Four of Rainbow's eight connections to the aqueduct are from MWD rather than from the CWA, and during the design of the interconnection project Rainbow decided that regular use of the pumps to move water from the Morro Zone to the south zones would allow Rainbow to save approximately $132 per acre-foot by using the MWD connections even when the CWA portion of the aqueduct is operational.

The water purchase savings along with the elimination of rental and labor costs for the temporary pumps would create estimated savings of up to $200,000 annually for Rainbow. "These things have a fantastic ROI (return on investment)," Kennedy said.

The temporary pumps also require fueling, so permanent pump stations will also reduce the risk of a fuel leak or spill.

The analysis also determined a more appropriate location for the pump stations. "We're moving it up the hill," Kennedy said.

The design will include general site layout, structural foundation, connection details, integration with Rainbow's supervisory control and data acquisition system, and site valving.

Rainbow is working with property owners on possible easements. Kennedy does not expect a significant above-ground footprint. "It will be built in the side of the hillside," he said.

A request for proposals for the design services was issued Sept. 25. Six firms responded by the Oct. 29 deadline. The proposals were evaluated based on the executive summary, the project description, the company's ability to meet Rainbow's schedule, the identification of consultants, past experience, the firm's local experience, and creative alternatives. Hoch Consulting, which is headquartered in San Diego, had the highest-ranked proposal.

"This is to get the design going," said acting district engineer Chad Williams. "Nothing will be purchased until we get much more down the road."

Author Bio

Joe Naiman, Writer

Joe Naiman has been writing for the Village News since 2001

 

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