Water Service Should Return to Usual Today : Utility: Parts of county affected by pipeline break are being asked to go slow on usage until Wednesday to avoid a big drop in pressure.

Full water service to parched East and South San Diego County is expected to be restored by this morning, but water authorities are asking that customers restrict their water usage until Wednesday morning.

Replacement of the ruptured water main that has left 400,000 residents with little water since Sept. 28 was completed over the weekend and the repaired pipeline was being filled with water and repressurized Monday, said Jim Melton, spokesman for the San Diego County Water Authority.

Although full water service should be restored by 10 a.m. today to the affected five water districts, the water authority has requested that residents restrict outdoor watering until Wednesday morning to avoid a big drop in water pressure.

Customers with odd-number addresses may water outdoors from 5 p.m. to midnight today, while those with addresses ending in even numbers may water from midnight to 8 a.m. Wednesday.

At that time, the Stage 4 water alert will revert to Stage 2, which prohibits various types of outdoor watering as part of the water authority’s summer-long effort to reduce water consumption by 10%.

Customers in the five affected districts responded to the water crisis by reducing their usage by up to two-thirds in some areas, helping avert a major catastrophe, officials said.

“We were very pleased with the public’s response,” Melton said. “People should give themselves a pat on the back.”

The water authority is empowered to shut off the water of any customer who disobeys restrictions during a Stage 4 alert--the first in San Diego County--but no shut-offs occurred, Melton said.

Estimated cost of replacing the corroded pipe was $200,000. The break required a 13-member crew and other water agency employees to put in an as yet undetermined amount of overtime, which will add to the final repair costs.

“The water industry does not like living on the edge in terms of water supply,” Melton said. “It is exactly where you don’t want to be--not having enough in storage.”

County Water Authority officials, however, are confident that the new pipe will hold up and that water service to the more than 400,000 affected customers will return to normal.

“It’s probably the strongest section of the entire water system,” which includes 222 miles of piping ranging in diameter from 4 to 9 feet, Melton said.

The massive hole dug around the broken pipeline in Scripps Ranch will remain unfilled for a week to allow the 1-foot-thick concrete sleeve around the new pipe to finish curing, Melton said.

The new pipe, which is 7 feet in diameter and 40 feet in length, will carry 140 million gallons daily.

The break, the worst in the water authority’s history, prompted the Stage 4 alert in the Padre Dam, Otay, Helix, Lakeside and Riverview water districts.

During the crisis, East and South County residents have relied on surplus water supplies from Lake Jennings in Lakeside.

There have been five major water main breaks during the past 20 years, Melton said.

“The system is vulnerable, but we have had an excellent overall record,” he said.

A water pipe broke in Vista early Monday, but officials said it was not a major break and was not connected to the repairs in Scripps Ranch.