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Revolutionizing San Diego’s Water Future: Sukut Construction Takes On Pure Water Morena Conveyance South and Middle Pipeline Project for the City of San Diego
By Brian Hoover, Senior Editor / Photos provided by: Brian Hoover, CMS, LLC and Sukut Construction
San Diego Pure Water Program
San Diego’s Pure Water Project is a crucial response to the city’s heavy reliance on imported water, with 85% sourced from the Colorado River and Northern California Bay Delta. The escalating cost of this imported water, which has tripled in the last 15 years, underscores the urgency of local water solutions. Currently, only eight percent of wastewater is recycled, while the rest is treated and discharged into the ocean.
Pure Water San Diego represents a phased, multi-year initiative to transform this paradigm. By 2035, it aims to provide nearly half of San Diego’s water supply locally, significantly reducing dependence on costly imports. This program is designed to revolutionize the city’s water system, creating a complete water cycle that maximizes the utilization of this precious resource.
Phase 1 Pure Water San Diego
Phase 1 of the Pure Water Program encompasses 12 distinct projects aimed at treating recycled water, resulting in the production of 30 million gallons per day of high-quality purified water. The Morena Conveyance South and Middle, segment of the project was awarded to Sukut Construction (Sukut). Matthew Fleming is the project manager overseeing this $130 million contract for Sukut.
“The Pure Water Program represents the largest ever infrastructure project delivered by the City of San Diego for its community. We started potholing in October 2022 and put the first stick of pipe in the ground in June of 2023. We should have everything wrapped up by the end of 2025,” explains Fleming. “There are two uniquely situated sections of the job. The City of San Diego refers to them as the South and Middle sections because they were initially separate projects that were merged. From the Morena Pump Station Facility, which is the southernmost section of the project, the water will be forced up a 48-inch pipe to a treatment center at the northern end of the project. The solids are separated and treated here for reintroduction into the Miramar reservoir. At this point, it becomes raw water and is run through a secondary set of treatment before it is deemed potable and dispersed to the City of San Diego residents.”
Morena Conveyance Southern And Middle Pipelines
The Morena Pipelines Southern and Middle Alignment and Conveyance Bike Lanes project will connect the Morena Pump Station to the Morena Northern Alignment and Tunnels. The project also includes the installation of Class II bike lanes with buffer zones, bicycle loops, and signage. “We are installing two large-diameter
48 and 30-inch cement mortarlined and coated steel pipelines in parallel for wastewater reuse. One is considered a force main sewer, and the other is a brine-line return line,” says Fleming. “The entire project is located along a seven-mile alignment with 72,000 linear feet of pipe being supplied by Northwest Pipe Company. To date, our crews have installed more than 14,000 linear feet of pipeline on Clairemont Drive.”
Morena Conveyance South
According to Fleming, the southern section (Morena Conveyance South) consists of constructing approximately 17,400 linear feet of new 48-inch wastewater force main, 17,800 linear feet of 30-inch brine centrate conveyance pipeline, and associated appurtenances. Construction on the southern section begins at the Morena Pump Station, located at the corner of Sherman and Custer Streets, continues east along Sherman Street, north along Morena Boulevard, east on Milton Street, north on Chicago Street, east on Jellett Street, north on
Denver Street, and east on Clairemont Drive up to Iroquois Avenue. “The south section is located within a water-impacted area, so there’s dewatering involved, which necessitates a whole different set of installation methods,” continues Fleming.
“An important part of our job is to engage with community groups to discuss traffic, schedules, and other issues that may impact residents. We are working in the middle of the street, moving up through Clairemont northward towards UTC (University Town Center), installing pipeline at depths of 17 to 20 feet within active roadway conditions. Ensuring open communication and transparency with the community, schools, churches, businesses, and residents is of paramount importance to us and the City of San Diego. We are constantly working to stay in front of the various groups and do all that we can to keep everything as normal as humanly possible.”
Morena Conveyance Middle
The Morena Conveyance Middle project includes the installation of 18,400 linear feet of 48-inch wastewater force main pipeline and approximately 18,330 linear feet of 30-inch welded steel pipe brine centrate/ conveyance pipeline. The project extends from the connection with Morena Conveyance South near Iroquois Avenue, north along Clairemont Drive, east on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, and north on Genesee Avenue up to Appleton Road. Installation of associated appurtenances along the route is also part of the contract.
Going Underground With The Help Of Trench Shoring Company
Fleming explains that digging at depths of up to 20 feet and a width of 14 feet requires a variety of shoring solutions. “Trench Shoring Company has been there for us from the beginning with very unique design solutions for supporting existing utilities and assisting us with ways to keep them active. We have encountered some challenging utility crossings, whether water, sewer, storm, fiber, or electric,” says Fleming. “We like working with Trench Shoring Company because they remain on call when we have on-the-spot issues. Their knowledgeable and dynamic support is always welcome and appreciated. We work with Troy Junkin from
Trench Shoring Company, and he and Kevin Malloy (President, Trench Shoring Company) work hard to keep a strong working relationship with our company. We are always looking for a solution-driven response and Trench Shoring Company is always there to advise us and not just to take an order.”
Sukut is using trench boxes and shields as their primary support source, but in the wet areas in the south, they are going with steel beams and plates. “We are utilizing beam and plate shoring in the wet sections because it can ultimately be done without excavating in advance of the shoring install. So, we drill the beams in and push the plates to slowly make our way down to the subgrade. In other areas, we are using trench boxes where we just drop the box in and begin installing pipe. The area we are working in, whether it is wet, dry, or rocky, dictates the shoring application. This is pretty clear to see on this particular project with the elevation change from start to finish being around 275 vertical feet,” Fleming says. “The beams are 40 feet long and supplemented by whalers that join with the beams for support. Without the whalers, the beams would have to be 60 feet long.”
UNIQUE, CHALLENGING, AND REWARDING PROJECT
Fleming points out other challenges, including his crews and working area being sandwiched between two other contractors. One is working on the pump station that will tie into the southernmost section, and another is installing a conveyance pipe in the northern segment. “We have weekly coordination meetings that help us all correspond about the details of one another’s schedules,” Fleming says. “We are also continually working in close coordination with the City of San Diego to implement appropriate traffic control that allows us to work during the day, as well as to limit our overall exposure and keep change orders to a minimum.”
Sukut is self-performing most of the work on the Morena Conveyance project except for a few trades, such as locating utilities and the final asphalt paving. “We got out in front of the pipeline install with AirX Utility Surveyors, who used vacuum trucks and hydro excavation to locate utilities and establish the design alignment. And for the asphalt paving, we are utilizing a top-notch contractor, Hardy & Harper,” says Fleming. “Our crews work in a window with around 2,000 linear feet in front of them, so they must finish and close up the back 1,000 feet in order to open up another 1,000 feet in front of them. Everyone is working hard to finish and repave what they have opened each week. We have a great team of operators and laborers working on this project led by our superintendent, Trenton Christian, a phenomenal guy who has been working here at Sukut for more than 20 years. We also have Chris Hartwell and Nate Barnett, our mainline pipe foremen, who are leading the large-diameter pipe installations and both have been longtime employees with Sukut.”
Sukut has anywhere from 75 to 100 employees working on the project at any given time, with more than 52,000 man-hours logged at the time of publication.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience while we continue to do our part to help San Diegans secure a continuous water source for years to come,” says Fleming. “Everyone here at Sukut is proud and honored to be a part of this exciting and important high-profile project. Once complete, residents, business owners, and visitors alike are sure to appreciate having a brand new full-width, curb-to-curb roadway available to them.”
For more information on the Pure Water Morena Conveyance South and Middle Pipeline project, please visit Pure Water San Diego. For more information on Sukut Construction, please visit www.sukut.com. Cc
