FPUD won't feel impact of Lake Skinner water failure

FALLBROOK — As water suppliers all over the county felt the pinch after Lake Skinner’s water treatment plant had an operational failure two weeks ago, Fallbrook Public Utility District customers can breathe a sigh of relief, as they won’t notice a cut in their water supply.

FPUD began tapping into its own 440-million-gallon Red Mountain Reservoir shortly after news came that the Skinner plant had suffered a significant operational failure and was only operating at half capacity. FPUD receives all its treated water from the Metropolitan Water District’s Skinner treatment plant, but thanks to Red Mountain’s additional storage, FPUD has a safety net.

“We are able to reduce our take from Lake Skinner by half, and we’ll be able to do that for as long as 30 days,” said Chief Engineer Joe Jackson.

FPUD volunteered to reduce its water supply from Lake Skinner to assist the county’s other water suppliers that don’t have additional water stored and are feeling the impact of a reduced supply.

“We are not in a crisis situation, thanks to our large reservoir, but we are asking customers to please conserve water anyway until repairs are made and the system is running at full-capacity again,” said General Manager Keith Lewinger.

Metropolitan expected that the Lake Skinner plant would be repaired and running again within 48 hours of the problem.