Sewer pipe repair starting around Avenida Encinas

The City of Carlsbad is teaming with the Leucadia Wastewater District and the City of Encinitas to repair part of an aging sewer pipe in southwestern Carlsbad. The work began this week and is expected to be completed by the end of October.

 

City of Carlsbad Construction Manager Casey Arndt said that the repair will use trenchless technology, to minimize traffic inconveniences along Avenida Encinas.

 

“We're using a cured-in-place liner, in which we coat a felt sleeve with molten resin, insert it into the old pipe cavity, then cure it until it's hard,” said Arndt. “This is a trenchless method, so we won't have to dig up the street to lay a new section of pipe.”

 

The pipe, known as the Occidental Interceptor, runs north-south under Avenida Encinas, near the Encina Water Pollution Control Facility. An inspection of the 38-year-old pipe revealed that about 700 feet of the half-mile-long pipe need to be repaired. The old section is clay, and the inspection detected cracks and breaks. Eight concrete manholes that have deteriorated in the highly corrosive environment also will be restored.

 

The pipe is a shared structure, carrying wastewater from the City of Carlsbad, the Leucadia Wastewater District and the City of Encinitas to the Encina Water Pollution Control Facility. The damaged pipe section runs under Avenida Encinas between the treatment plant and the Coaster’s Carlsbad Poinsettia train station, just south of the plant.

 

Arndt said that the city and contractor have worked out a detailed plan to route the wastewater around the old section of pipe while it's under repair, so people who depend on the pipe won’t be affected while the work is under way.

 

Charles King Co. of Signal Hill, Calif., was awarded a contract of $591,000 to do the repair. Ownership of the pipe is split among the three agencies, with Carlsbad and Leucadia owning a 40 percent share each, and Encinitas owning 20 percent. The three agencies are splitting the repair cost in proportion to their ownership share.

 

The City of Carlsbad is paying its share of project cost through the Sewer Replacement Fund. The city’s Construction and Inspections Management Team is supervising the project.

 

Casey Arndt, 760-602-2780, ext. 7320, casey.arndt@carlsbadca.gov

Kristina Ray, 760-434-2957, kristina.ray@carlsbadca.gov