News

Efficiencies Will Yield Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Savings to Ratepayers

Olivenhain Municipal Water District (OMWD), Santa Fe Irrigation District (SFID), and San Dieguito Water District (SDWD) have reached an agreement to protect water infrastructure in North County by jointly managing pipeline protection systems across the three agencies.

Metal pipeline protection systems known as “cathodic protection” utilize an electrical current to protect pipelines from corrosion. All three agencies currently utilize these systems independently. However, each agency determined that efficiencies could be gained by a shared approach to maintaining their systems, especially where pipelines run adjacent to one another or intersect.

It is estimated that each agency will save approximately $100,000 in planned capital expenditures, plus small ongoing savings through shared maintenance costs over the 20-year term of the contract.

“Our individual agencies don’t operate in a vacuum. It’s important for us to seize opportunities to work with our neighbors to better protect our infrastructure and our ratepayers,” said Larry Watt, President of OMWD’s Board of Directors. “This cooperative arrangement will reduce future capital costs while continuing to protect our assets in the ground.”

SFID Board President Michael T. Hogan stated, “Our agencies have worked hard through the Tri-Agency Partnership Committee to identify projects and opportunities to work together, focusing on ones such as the joint pipeline protection system that will reduce costs for our agencies and increase operational efficiencies. The intent is to continue to work collaboratively and build on the success of this project.”

SDWD Board President Tony Kranz added, “By working together, all three agencies will be able reduce costs while increasing the protection of important pipelines. Increasing corrosion protection of pipelines reduces the risks of leaks and should increase the useful life of those pipelines.”

SFID’s Board of Directors approved the agreement at its October 29 meeting. The agreement was approved by SDWD’s board on October 15 and by OMWD’s board on September 24.

The collaborative idea grew out of the Ad Hoc Tri-Agency Partnership Committee, made up of two board members and staff from each of the three agencies, which has met periodically since 2013. The purpose of the committee is to explore collaborative efforts that result in reduced costs, improved services, and/or increased efficiencies for the agencies.

Preliminary discussions are underway that may also ultimately see the City of Escondido sign on to the agreement.