Groundbreaking Ceremony for Upper Chiquita Reservoir…

More than 100 people on Friday attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Upper Chiquita Reservoir in Rancho Santa Margarita.

For the original article posted online by the City of San Juan Capistrano, click here…
For a Quick Reference Fact Sheet on the Upper Chiquita Reservoir, click here…
For an overview w/map for Upper Chiquita Emergency Storage, click here…
For a City Council (SJC) Agenda Report outlining Capacity Rights, click here…

The reservoir is a new emergency water storage facility by the Santa Margarita Water District in partnership with Moulton Niguel Water District, South Coast Water District and the cities of San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente. San Juan Capistrano plans to obtain a 10 percent share, along with the other agencies, in the capacity of the facility. The City Council tonight will consider entering into a participation agreement to formally become a partner in the project.

Upon completion in December 2010, the reservoir will provide South County water agencies with up to 244 million gallons of emergency drinking water – enough to supply more than 168,000 local families with 200 gallons of domestic water per day for one week in the event of a regional or statewide water service disruption.

The facility will increase and diversify the City’s emergency storage volume and provide San Juan Capistrano with an additional three days of average demand to manage import water shutdowns.  

The Upper Chiquita Reservoir will provide the region with substantial new water reserves to meet customer demand during disruptions of water deliveries to the district. These interruptions can be unanticipated, like the break of the district’s primary supply pipeline in 1999, or planned, like shutdowns of the Diemer Filtration plant in Yorba Linda.

The reservoir is located on the western slope of Chiquita Canyon, just north of Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita.