Preventing blowouts, like the one that occurred the day before Thanksgiving 2017 at the intersection of Stagecoach Road and Ranchwood Lane, is the reason we’re doing so many planned shutdowns. Plain and simple: we’re trying to prevent emergencies and unplanned water shutdowns.

Many of our pipes are more than 50 years old and have become aged. The District was formed in the 1920s when some of these pipes were laid in the ground. A pipeline’s life can be 80 to 100 years, but many of the early lines that were installed were not put in at today’s standards and have shorter lives. Some of the early pipelines were also dug up from March Air Force base and re-installed in Fallbrook. Many of these pipelines have reached the end of their useful life and have begun experiencing failure.

Now, and over the next several months and years, we are embarking on a number of prevention, maintenance and improvement projects to safeguard and maintain our pipes and infrastructure. Waiting to fix them after they break isn’t the most cost-effective and convenient way to operate."We’re trying to prevent a continued Band-Aid approach with multiple disruptions in service," said Jack Bebee, general manager.

The shutdowns and reconstruction are part of FPUD’s proactive approach to pipeline and valve replacement. By identifying pipes in the worst condition, we can prioritize which ones need to be replaced first, resulting in fewer pipe failures, blowouts and spills.

Prevention

We’re replacing miles of buried water and sewer pipes. As always, only sewer customers pay for sewer improvements, and only water customers pay for water improvements.

Every year, we’re replacing or relining sewer manholes and sewer lines. Some of our manholes date so far back that they are made of brick.

Maintenance

We’ve refurbished six of our eight steel tanks over the last several years

Valve replacements – this is an ongoing project that covers the entire town; valves are a critical component of our infrastructure to limit the size of any shutdown. We’re strategically prioritizing the most needed jobs.

When are we doing the work?

All construction work will be done weekdays, from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except for projects that disrupt businesses which may be scheduled overnight. You will receive a letter and phone call if the planned shutdown will affect your water service. We post regular updates to our website and Twitter. You can also check out our Facebook page for other water-related updates.