From left: CHWD Public Affairs Manager Mary Elise Conzelmann, Executive Director for the Citrus Heights Chamber Sheri Merrick and CHWD Vice President David C. Wheaton pose at the Chamber Luncheon

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) – At the Access Citrus Heights Chamber Luncheon on Oct. 21, CHWD Public Affairs Manager Mary Elise Conzelmann spoke about CHWD’s statistics and current projects the district is working on. Conzelmann updated the chamber on Project 2030; a project introduced back in 2018 and drew the audience’s attention to the water main break in Los Angeles over the summer highlighting the importance of water pipe management.

In July, a 110-year-old 36-inch water main ruptured in West Hollywood and spilled an astounding 17 million gallons of water. This triggered a stream of different infrastructure and operational failures including temporary business closures, loss of foot traffic, damaged parking structures and lack of delivery access that helped businesses sustain their operation.

Conzelmann opens the CHWD presentation by asking the audience if they remember that headline over the summer by a show of hands. She depicted photos of the headline, articles and images of the devastating water main break. Conzelmann asked the question as to why this affects the community of Citrus Heights and CHWD.

“Our job at Citrus Heights Water District is to protect the water infrastructure that serves our community and the businesses here today. We are going to talk about how we support the infrastructure here locally.” Conzelmann said.

Public Affair Analyst Katie Fuerte poses in front of the CHWD booth full of goodies such as calendars, T-shirts, pens and more!

Citrus Heights Water District has been serving the community since 1920 and serves two thirds of the City of Citrus Heights as well as parts of Orangevale, Fair Oaks, Carmichael and Roseville. Within this footprint CHWD serves 12.8 square miles and 70,000 customers.

Conzelmann also adds a fun fact to help describe the amount of pipe CHWD maintains. “If you were to drive from Citrus Heights to Reno Nevada and back that is the distance of pipes that we maintain and operate. We maintain over 250 miles of pipe,” said Conzelmann.

Conzelmann goes on to discuss the aging infrastructure and pipes in the community as most as been built in the 1950s, 60s, or 70s back when early developers of Citrus Heights put these pipes into the ground. At this time, many of these pipes are reaching their typical lifespan.

“We are doing everything we can to plan proactively to help prevent failures because we want to be able to maintain the pipes before the failure dictates when we have to do the work,” Conzelmann said.

This leads into what CHWD is currently working on, Project 2030, a project that was introduced back in 2018 and was brought about as the result of meetings that happened over the years begging the question of: do we wait or begin repairs?

Project 2030 is an approach to replace the aging infrastructure between the years 2030 and 2080. According to Conzelmann, about 70% of our water mains need to be replaced, resulting in about 180 miles of pipe that require thoughtful planning of how to approach this promptly.

CHWD Public Affairs Manager Mary Elise Conzelmann shares CHWD statistics at the beginning of the presentation

“Each year we spend up to 3.7 million dollars annually on pipe replacement and so this is apart of our active commitment to maintaining the pipes and re investing about 75% of every customer dollar that comes into the system that supports you,” Conzelmann said.

Three completed main projects were discussed, each part of the broader Project 2030 approach, Project Greenback Lane, Auburn Boulevard Project and the 42-inch pipe repair.

Project Greenback Lane was a project that happened over the summer that took place at night on westbound Greenback Lane between Birdcage and Mariposa, CHWD replaced a 12-inch water main and restored the pavement in the work area.

CHWD also took part in the city’s Auburn Boulevard Project where CHWD crew replaced water mains along with service connections and relocating fire hydrants. This project was completed in the summer.

Lastly, the 42-inch pipe repair project, one of the largest pipes in CHWD’s service area. Conzelmann explained that CHWD’s does a condition pipe assessment to look at conditions of pipes on an annual basis and assess the conditions.

“Through the condition pipe assessment, the results found that these 42 inches had some of the characteristics for low integrity and potential leak.” Conzelmann said. “The team addressed the issue very quick after it was identified and is expected to extend the life of the pipe by 25 years.”

The CHWD presentation wrapped up with assuring the community of dedication in investing proactively so we do not go through the same incident as West Hollywood.

“We won’t wait. If a pipe needs to be replaced today, we will do it today,” Conzelmann said.