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Chapter 10: A Long-term Commitment to Reliability
years later, the fiber-optic
warning system had been
installed in more than
44 miles of pre-stressed
concrete cylinder pipes.
Water Authority engineers
and software experts also
developed a new asset
man-
agement program that signifi-
cantly increased the agency’s
ability to forecast and
respond to potential prob-
lems. Within its first few
years, the process resulted
in the deferral of $210 million
in pipeline and facility proj-
ects because detailed condition reports
showed they still had years of life left and other
projects were a higher priority.
SEEING THE BENEFITS
Through its capital projects and asset
manage-
ment programs, the Water Authority estab-
lished a reputation for prudent long-term invest-
ments and strategic spending to keep its treat-
ment and delivery system working at the high-
est level of reliability at the least possible cost.
That work was supported by other agencies’
projects so that by 2013, there was approxi-
mately 590,000 acre-feet of surface storage
capacity in San Diego
County, mostly in reservoirs
owned by the Water
Authority’s member agencies.
In addition,
MWD filled
Diamond Valley Lake near
Hemet in 2000, and about
half of that
massive reservoir
is earmarked for emergency
supplies. At 800,000 acre-
feet, it is the largest
man-
made lake in Southern
California and an i
mportant
buffer against
multiple dry years.
Much like the Water
Authority’s supply diversification program, its
capital program also received favorable
reviews. The San Diego County Grand Jury
said in 2007 that the Emergency Storage
Project "represents an insurance policy that
safe, reliable water will be available to support
the region's economy, the job base, and the
quality of life for the more than three million res-
idents, even if the pri
mary water supply lines
are temporarily disrupted. The members of the
Board of
Directors and staff involved with this
project deserve a vote of thanks for following
through on addressing a decades old
Excavating pipeline for relining