South Mesa Water outlines $10.2 million pipeline work, recharge plans and helicopter hydrant pilot for Calimesa area

Dave Armstrong, general manager of South Mesa Water Company, told the Calimesa City Council that South Mesa completed a multi-million dollar infrastructure project and is pursuing additional measures to secure sustainable water supplies for the Calimesa and Yucaipa area.

"I'm Dave Armstrong, general manager of South Mesa Water Company. Been there 25 years," Armstrong said, then summarized recent work funded by a $10,200,000 grant that paid to replace pipe and extend service lines on and near County Line Road. Armstrong said the grant supported nearly 11,000 feet of new water mains, about 7,000 feet of water service lines and a reservoir rehabilitation on County Line Road in Douglas.

Armstrong said South Mesa consolidated a disadvantaged mobile-home park in Yucaipa as part of the project and built partnerships with the San Antonio Pass Water Agency (often referred to as the pass agency) and the Yucaipa Basin Watermaster to expand recharge capacity. He described plans to use state project water as a "supplemental supply" in wet years to recharge local groundwater basins and treat it as a long-term storage account rather than a guaranteed source.

Armstrong reported that South Mesa currently has about 11,000 acre-feet in storage in the basin and operates a single production well at the lower golf-course area. "We have 11,000 acre feet of water in storage right now, and I only have 1 well," he said, adding the storage provides fallback supply when pumping limits restrict production.

He also described a pilot project to install a helicopter-fill hydrant — a small reservoir that can be filled from a water main and used by firefighting helicopters for continuous dipping during wildfires. Armstrong said the San Antonio Pass Water Agency has grant funding to place such hydrants in strategic upper Mesa locations and that South Mesa will coordinate with the fire department on siting and operations.

Armstrong and councilmembers discussed land and water-right assets in the region, including acquisition activity by Yucaipa Valley Water District and mutual water company histories. He emphasized that state project water deliveries are supplemental and subject to interruption; the city's planned stormwater-capture basin could also serve as a recharge basin in coordination with Riverside County Flood Control.

Council members thanked Armstrong for the overview. No formal council action was requested for the presentation.

The council asked staff to request a formal update from Yucaipa Valley Water District in a future meeting to provide additional detail on basin management and regional coordination.