Our District / Departments / Operations and Facilities

Operations and Facilities

Function Overview

The Operations and Facilities Department is the largest within Valley Center Municipal Water District. It is divided into six Divisions with a staff of 42 full time employees, including six in wastewater operations. The Department is responsible for the operation and maintenance of all District facilities, water and wastewater, and the District’s security and safety programs. It also performs a number of in-house construction and improvement projects and works in conjunction with the Engineering Department in providing in-house planning, construction knowledge, and the completion of smaller capital projects.

Divisions

The Administration Division administers and supervises the daily functions of the District’s Field Department and includes customer service, radio dispatch, and employee’s certifications and physical requirements. In addition:

  • The Safety and Regulatory Compliance Division encompasses the District’s safety and compliance programs for all departments to ensure the preservation of our low worker’s compensation ratings through our ACWA/JPIA insurance provider.
     
  • The District Security Division administers the implementation of the recommended measures from our vulnerability assessment for incorporation throughout the District’s facilities, via our SCADA network.

The Water Operations Division estimates usage demand, purchases water, and regulates flow throughout the distribution system. It also analyzes pump efficiency data and monitors and tracks solar generation. That information is used to develop pumping strategies that improve resources and help reduce overall pumping costs.

The Division is also responsible for:

  • Water quality, sampling, testing
  • Pressure reducing stations
  • Altitude valve maintenance
  • The District’s Water Quality Report
  • Monthly facility and reservoir inspections
  • All DHS reporting
  • The operations of the SCADA and telemetry system

The Wastewater Division is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Lower Moosa Canyon Water Reclamation Facility and Woods Valley Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant. This includes performing tests and making the necessary adjustments to meet Regional Water Quality Control Board effluent standards. The Moosa laboratory performs our daily wastewater samplesing, potable bacteriological testing (Bac-T), and general physicals samples.

The Division is also responsible for the maintenance of the sewer collection systems, lift stations and low pressure systems, which includes, locates, inspections and repairs of all sewer lines and manholes within the wastewater system.

The Woods Valley Plant processes the District’s first tertiary water and includes the District’s reclaimed water program.

The Pump & Motor Division maintains, repairs, and replaces the electrical and mechanical equipment at the District’s 58 different water and wastewater facilities. The Division maintains the District’s equipment at a high level of efficiency, reliability, and safety through proactive maintenance and replacement programs.

The water facilities are comprised of 53 locations consisting of:

  • 43 reservoirs
  • 113 electric motor driven pumps
  • 25 emergency power generators
  • 11 air compressors
  • 8 natural gas engine driven pumps
  • 3 solar power systems

The wastewater facilities are comprised of 5 locations consisting of:

  • 56 electric motor driven pieces of equipment
  • 4 emergency power generators

The Division is also responsible for the in-house planning and implementation of the District SCADA Project, potential solar sites, and security systems, as well as their maintenance, upgrades, and improvements.

In addition, it is responsible for the Fleet Division, which repairs and maintains District vehicles, tractors, and equipment. The District fleet consists of 48 vehicles, 44 pieces of large equipment, and 84 pieces of miscellaneous equipment.

The C&M Division maintains, inspects, repairs, upgrades, and locates as necessary the more than 297 miles of pipelines and easements that run throughout the District’s service area. It also maintains, identifies, locates, detects for leaks, and repairs all mainline valves and appurtenances and performs most of the District’s in-house construction projects.

This Division also performs bi-annual maintenance to over 1,000 fire hydrants under contract with the Valley Center Fire Protection District (VCFPD) and is responsible for the flushing of our dead-end water lines to maintain our water quality.

It assists the Wastewater Division with in-house construction work and all the major repairs of sewer lines and manholes within the wastewater system.

The Division is also responsible for landscaping needs and requirements of all District facilities and easements.

The Meter Services Division is responsible for the installation, relocation and repair of all water meters and service laterals. This includes responsibility for warehousing, meter installation, backflow and service repair inventories. This Division reads, monitors, and tests water meters.

As of April 30, 2014, there were 9,771 active meters, of which 987 are fire meters, and 3,755 backflow devices that are tested annually. It oversees the Cross Connection/Backflow program and responds to the majority of the customer service requests which are received by the District.

It also enforces the District’s Water Conservation measures and mandates and assists with the corporate facilities maintenance and repairs.

In addition, it oversees the Corporate Facilities Division which repairs and maintains the District’s corporate facility.

Long-Term Goals

  • Continue installing the new Sensus ALLY meter that features a remote turn-on, turn-off and restricted use capabilities and build out the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) radio system.
  • Continue to maintain and upgrade the SCADA system installation at our water and wastewater facilities. 
  • Continue to maintain and upgrade the District’s pump and corporate facilities to improve energy efficiencies (Standard 6).
  • Continue to train and develop district personnel to meet the districts future succession planning demands.
  • Re-establish easement maintenance and meter maintenance programs throughout the districts distribution system to improve system evaluations and leak detection measures.
  • Work with Information Technology on the implementation of our Cityworks Asset Management System to develop a maintenance, inventory, and service order record keeping system to improve work efficiencies, practices, and maintenance records.
  • Continue to implement and develop pumping strategies and procedures to maximize pumping efficiencies and incorporate solar or alternative generation into that approach.
  • Continue to research and implement strategies or new technologies to improve efficiencies and maximize costs savings in all aspects of our operational procedures.

Director of Operations & Facilities - Brian Lovelady