The Otay Water District Celebrates 65 Years as a Water Service Provider by Otay Water District Dec 23, 2021 Member Submitted News As 2021 comes to a close, the Otay Water District continues to commemorate 65 years of providing communities of southeastern San Diego County with reliable water service. How it Started On an overcast summer day, 65 years ago in 1955, a plumber, a civil engineer, an attorney, a newspaper publisher, and two owners of large tracts of land gathered for lunch at Christie’s Restaurant in Chula Vista, California. They met to discuss how they could bring life-giving water to an arid region of southeastern San Diego County. By the end of the day, they had a common vision, a few thousand dollars to spend, and the framework for what later became the Otay Water District. The Otay Municipal Water District was established in 1956, serving a population of less than 1,200, and by 1960, it had approximately 700 water connections and delivered about 500 acre-feet of water annually. In the early years, the District’s service area was mostly a scrub- and cactus-covered backcountry. How it is Going The availability of water has helped transform the District’s service area into a blend of diverse environments and backgrounds shared by people and nature. Today, the District provides reliable water, recycled water, and sewer service to more than 226,000 customers within approximately 125 square miles of southeastern San Diego County, including the communities of eastern Chula Vista, Bonita, Jamul, Spring Valley, Rancho San Diego, unincorporated areas of El Cajon and La Mesa, and east Otay Mesa along the international border of Mexico. To serve the need of its customers, the District purchases potable water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, San Diego County Water Authority, and Helix Water District. Throughout the last 65 years, the District hit various milestones to continue serving the growing population in its service area. “Serving customers for 65 years is something we take seriously. We take pride in our commitment to our customers,” said Otay Water District Board President Tim Smith. “We also value our employees because without them we could not provide the high-quality customer service that we do. Through excellence, integrity, teamwork, and innovation, the District, its board, and staff work daily toward the same goal of ensuring a reliable water supply and sewer system and continuing to enhance our operational practices.” One major highlight in Otay’s history includes the construction of its Ralph W. Chapman Water Recycling Facility in 1979. The plant produces up to 1.1 million gallons of recycled water per day. Recycled water from the plant is used to irrigate a portion of eastern Chula Vista. The District is committed to increasing the use of recycled water in its service area to minimize the overall demand for potable water. To assure efficient operations, comply with regulations, and replace aging infrastructure, the District regularly invests in capital improvement projects. One important undertaking includes the 14-Inch Force Main Improvement Project located in the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge and completed in 2017. After the pipeline’s 37 years of service and a recent leak, the District used advanced technologies and sophisticated analysis software to discover that it was still in excellent condition. With proactive maintenance and repair measures, the District preserved the remaining useful life of the existing three-mile-long pipeline facility and saved its ratepayers potentially nearly $8 million. Also in 2017, the District began taking advantage of manufacturer warranties to upgrade more than 49,600 automated meter reading (AMR) registers, which the District originally installed between 2004 – 2012. Replacing registers instead of the entire meters as well as taking advantage of existing warranties helped save ratepayers approximately $3.3 million in meter replacement costs. Benefits of utilizing AMR meters include reduction of full-time meter reading staff, increase in the safety of staff, allowing staff to store historical water-use data, and identifying unexplained usage by providing leak, tamper, and back-flow detection alarms. In 2018, after a two-year study and evaluation period, Otay began using drones to assist with the preliminary inspection of water facilities, including 40 potable water reservoirs. Drone technology can provide time savings with initial inspections and allows for a safer examination process of the District’s assets. Many milestones have also been instrumental in helping the District’s service area do its part in reducing water waste and overall water use, which is especially important during a drought. In recent years, San Diego County has been better prepared for drought than other parts of California. This is partially due to the District’s heavy investment in water conservation, water recycling, seawater desalination, and transitional storage over the last 20-plus years. “I’m proud to be part of and serve an agency like the District because as an organization, we strive to provide excellent water and wastewater service to our community, while at the same time managing operational efficiencies to minimize rates to our customers,” said Otay Water District General Manger Jose Martinez. “Throughout 65 years, we are one of the few water districts that still has room to grow; we have continued to ensure a reliable water supply to our increasing population, and we will continue to do so.” Although it may look different today, the District remains as dedicated to community service as in its early roots. Responsible resource planning, sound fiscal management, respect for the environment, and paying close attention to its customers’ needs are necessary to ensure its future looks as good as its history. To view a timeline of the District’s history, click here.