Repair of Pipe Will Halt Water to South S.D.

Much of south San Diego’s water supply will be shut off from 11 p.m. tonight until 6 a.m. Saturday morning while city Water Utilities Department workers fix a leak on a valve in the south San Diego pipeline, the major feeder for the area.

Residents in San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, and Nestor are being asked to store any water they will need for cooking or sanitary purposes during that period before tonight.

If residents in those areas need water during the seven-hour shutdown, the city will have water wagons set up at three locations: the intersection of 24th Street and Palm Avenue, about three-eights of a mile east of Interstate 5; at the south end of San Ysidro Boulevard, about a half mile north of the border; and at the intersection of Picador Boulevard and Del Sol Boulevard, about a fourth of a mile north of California 905 and about a mile west of Interstate 805.

Residents will be allowed to take as much water as they can carry, though city officials prefer they stock up before the water is turned off. Containers will not be provided.

Workers earlier this week discovered the leak in one of the 33-inch diameter pipeline’s air valves during routine tests.

The leak resulted from a deterioration of the valve’s fitting, and has nothing to do with the pipe itself, which is structurally healthy, said Charles Yackly, assistant deputy director of the department.

The valve, in an underground vault near Otay Valley Road, has been leaking 10 gallons per minute at most. Yackly said it is in a remote area, and traffic will not be interrupted.

He said the city wanted to stop the relatively minor leak as quickly as possible because it feared it could become more serious.

“If that happened, we would have to shut down the pipeline right away without being able to schedule it,” he said.

If customers have any questions, they can call 236-5600 today.