Mayor Todd Gloria Directs $80 Million for Pure Water San Diego Purification Conveyance Tunnel

SAN DIEGO — Mayor Todd Gloria and the San Diego City Council voted unanimously on Monday to authorize an $80 million municipal capital construction agreement for Phase Two of the landmark Pure Water San Diego program, initiating engineering on the 8-mile underground purified water conveyance tunnel connecting the Central Water Purification Facility on Harbor Drive to the Lake Murray reservoir.

The project utilizes a five-stage purification process—including ozonation, biological activated carbon filters, membrane ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet advanced oxidation—to recycle municipal wastewater into ultra-pure, crystal-clear drinking water that meets all federal and state drinking water standards.

Providing 50 Percent of San Diego's Drinking Water Locally by 2035 San Diego currently imports over 85 percent of its drinking water from the Colorado River and Northern California Bay-Delta, making the region vulnerable to long-term climate droughts and external water wholesale price hikes.

"Pure Water San Diego is the most ambitious and transformative water infrastructure project in our city's history," Mayor Todd Gloria said at the North City Water Purification Demonstration Facility. "Importing 85 percent of our water across hundreds of miles is neither environmentally sustainable nor economically secure. By investing $80 million in our Phase Two conveyance tunnel, we are moving closer to our goal of producing nearly half of San Diego's drinking water locally by 2035, securing a drought-proof water future for our residents."

Tunnel Engineering and Water Security Features The $80 million construction package funds:

• 8-Mile Purified Water Pipeline: Installing 48-inch welded steel polyurethane-lined pressurized watermains beneath city rights-of-way.
• Micro-Tunneling Technology: Utilizing automated underground tunneling boring machines to cross Interstate 8 and major transit lines without disrupting surface traffic.
• Lake Murray Environmental Mixing Station: Constructing subsurface multi-port diffusers to blend purified water with natural reservoir inflows.

Water resource engineers, environmental conservation federations, and regional business leaders commended the city council action, emphasizing that water recycling provides reliable, local drinking water independence.