SILVERADO CANYON : MWD Approves an 18-Mile Water Pipeline From Riverside County

A $575-million underground pipeline that will bring drinking water from Riverside County to South County won final approval this week, although construction is not expected to start for at least five years.

The project, called the Cleveland Tunnel, and its environmental impact report were approved Tuesday by the 51-member board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said Chairman Jack Foley of Laguna Niguel.

The project will offer a second source of water for the growing South County area as well as a backup source of imported water in case of an emergency such as an earthquake.

“This is an important step but the project is still a long way off,” said Foley, the general manager of the Moulton Niguel Water District.

He said the project would take about five years to complete once work begins.

Officials of MWD warned that the environmental report is nearly two years old and could be challenged. Also, financing for the project must still be secured, land purchased and final designs completed before construction can begin, officials said.

When finished, the 18-mile pipeline will move up to 260 million gallons of water a day from Lake Mathews, underneath the Santa Ana Mountains, to an existing distribution line near the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station near Lake Forest.

The tunnel will not surface near the rural Silverado, Modjeska and Williams canyons in the foothills of the Saddleback Valley, as had originally been planned.

After canyon residents complained of the possible noise and construction traffic to their tranquil lifestyles, MWD officials decided to keep the pipeline underground in the canyon areas.

“It was the residents’ suggestion we take a look at it and it turned out to be a good idea,” said Adam Kear, the MWD project manager.