FPUD responds to rain-induced water pipe breaks

If emergency circumstances exist, the Fallbrook Public Utility District (FPUD) general manager has the authority to approve contracts exceeding the $22,000 threshold which requires FPUD board approval, although such contracts must be officially ratified at the subsequent FPUD board meeting. As FPUD staff members assessed the damage from Jan. 7 pipe breaks, FPUD general manager Brian Brady determined the action to be taken administratively and then ratified at the Jan. 25 board meeting.

The initial FPUD response to the pipe breaks was to commence repairs. Between 15 and 18 FPUD field workers worked to repair the breaks and restore water circulation at four locations, and North County Fire Protection District crews assisted FPUD workers with traffic control.

The rainfall of early January caused four breaks between 7 a.m. and noon on Jan. 7. "The breaks happened in areas where mostly they're older pipes and water saturated the soil," said FPUD public affairs specialist Noelle Denke.

One of the locations where water valves were shut off was North Stage Coach Lane at Vista Del Lago and Mil Sorpresas. The Vista Del Lago pipe was constructed in 1960.

The water break and valve shutoff at East Aviation Road and South Mission Road involved a 1965 pipeline.

The shutoff also involved Via Ranchitos off of Santa Margarita Drive and Via de Gavilan by Sandia Creek and Rock Mountain Road; the broken Via Ranchitos pipe is believed to have been built in 1968 and was originally in the DeLuz Heights Municipal Water District which merged with FPUD in 1990.

The fourth break and shutoff location was Burma Road and Olive Hill Road along with Futurity Lane, Lake Ridge Road, and White Horse Lane; that pipe has also been in service since the 1960s.

"All the valves were closed or those areas have been isolated," Denke said.

Although the breaks are within a five-mile radius of each other, FPUD considers the breaks to be separate incidents. The additional weight from the water in the soil above the pipes can cause joints to split and also stresses the rest of the pipe at that point. "The pipe can snap," Denke said.

The Burma Road/Olive Hill break and the North Stage Coach break were repaired by the afternoon of January 7.

The replenishment of the water is followed by a quality control process to ensure that the repaired pipe is fully functional. "It's a slow process," Denke said.

Work progressed at the other two break locations. "Crews worked on them through the night, and into the morning," Denke said.

The non-emergency replacement of older pipe is handled through FPUD's capital improvement program which is included in the annual budget FPUD staff develops for board approval.

The FPUD board is expected to approve the district's 2016-17 budget at the June 27 board meeting, although the board may utilize an earlier meeting to direct staff to include specific priorities in the next budget.