Operations resume at Southern California water treatment plant

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has resumed operations at the Henry J Mills water treatment plant in Riverside following the completion of repairs on the 28-mile Santa Ana Valley pipeline.

A leaking valve was replaced by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) on the pipeline that extends from the DWR’s Devil Canyon Power Plant located north of San Bernardino to Lake Perris, the terminal reservoir of the east branch of the State Water Project.

The leak was reported in the Lytle Creek area of the highly pressurised pipeline in Colton, following which the Mills plant was closed by the water district.

Residents in the cities of Perris and Moreno Valley as well as a portion of southeast Riverside and nearby communities were requested by the Metropolitan and Eastern Municipal Water District and Western Municipal Water District to suspend outdoor watering and non-essential indoor water use while the repair work took place.

Metropolitan Water District assistant general manager and chief operating officer Debra Man said that supplies during the outage could not have been sustained without the water-saving help of residents and businesses in the affected area.

"Southland consumers have once again responded to the call for conservation," Man added.

A cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California serves nearly 19 million people in six counties.