Padre Dam Municipal Water District – Eastern Service Area Secondary Connection

San Diego County, California

Michael Baker provided civil engineering, design, stormwater inspection and construction inspection services for the $14 million Eastern Service Area Secondary Connection Project (ESA SCP) for the Padre Dam Municipal Water District (Padre Dam). As the largest capital improvement investment in Padre Dam history, the project increases water supply, ensures water reliability in cases of natural disaster and reduces reliance on imported water for 30,000 residents living in the District’s Eastern Service Area.

Our team prepared a preliminary site grading plan to clear the site of vegetation and debris, which allowed local Native American tribes to check the site ahead of major construction to preserve any cultural resources that may be discovered. Following site grading, we performed preliminary and final engineering design for the ESA SCP facilities, which included a 20-inch supply pipeline, a 20-inch discharge pipeline (with Interstate 8 tunnel crossing), 1.75-MGD circular pre-stressed concrete forebay reservoir, 12-MGD pump station, 9-MGD flow control facility, standby generator, instrumentation and controls.

During the design phase, we completed an acoustic study to analyze the potential impacts of the new pump station on the surrounding neighborhood. As a result, noise-absorbing panels, acoustically-rated louvers, access doors and roll-up doors were installed to minimize impacts to the local community. Our work also included conducting surge analysis, corrosion control, geotechnical engineering investigation, and facilitating the permitting process with the County of San Diego, Caltrans and various environmental regulatory agencies.

We provided supplemental stormwater inspection services to monitor the post-construction site condition during the 2018-19 rainy season and supported the construction inspection effort by providing full-time inspection of the 48-inch tunnel crossing of Interstate 8.