City hears Carlsbad Municipal Water District operations report; staff says no lead detected and highlights asset work

The council received an informational operations-and-maintenance report from Carlsbad Municipal Water District (CMWD) General Manager and Utilities Director Amanda Flessy covering water, wastewater and recycled-water operations.

Flessy said water operations manage nine reservoirs, seven pump stations and 74 pressure-reducing stations, and described a valve-rebuild project that required multiple planned shutdowns. Staff reported completion of newly required lead sampling and submission to the state with "no detection of lead" in the system.

The presentation included meter and customer-service statistics: staff distributed 22,741 nonpayment door hangers in the past year and 96 of those progressed to shut‑off notices (of those, 31 were reconnected the same day, 26 the next day and 39 were moved out); staff said many shut-off steps were resolved through payment arrangements. Wastewater staff said the system manages approximately 273 miles of pipeline, 11 lift stations and moves about six million gallons per day to the Encina wastewater treatment plant. The recycled-water team completed a required cross-connection control plan and will coordinate ongoing protections with regional partners.

Flessy said staff are updating asset-management plans and CIP master plans and expect to return with findings later in the year; those updates will inform scheduled rate hearings in 2027 for possible implementation in 2028. Council members thanked staff for the department's work and noted zero reported spills in the last reporting year.

Provenance: full operations presentation and later council Q&A concerning SDCWA pass-through rates and asset-management planning.