Empowering Our Water Future
PCWA's Role in Supporting our Growing Communities
General Manager's Report
By Andrew Fecko
Recent polling of Placer County residents revealed something that surprised me: A majority of the county’s residents think we don’t have enough water to meet future needs. So, I want to set the record straight.
We have plenty of water to serve both existing customers and future planned growth — there’s enough water to meet all the general needs of the residents and businesses we serve. This is thanks to PCWA’s high-priority water rights on the American River and our careful stewardship of that precious resource.
What we do need more of, however, is more treatment capacity and the pipelines to deliver water where it’s needed by the homes and businesses under construction in our communities.
Thankfully, there are vital, new water infrastructure projects already in the works. Our planning experts at PCWA are constantly assessing expected growth in the county and adjusting our infrastructure plan to ensure we have the budget, materials, and people to get them done. I’ll tell you more about a few big projects.
First, it’s important to make two things clear. PCWA is not a land management agency. We don’t have any role in approving or denying new development in the county. Our only role is to ensure there’s enough water to serve planned growth, and then to deliver that water where it’s needed.
Second, our existing customers pay nothing for the new water infrastructure that serves new residents. Instead, those new residents pay one-time connection charges to fund the new facilities that serve future water needs. This connection charge varies according to many factors, including lot size, location, and necessary infrastructure.
Monthly water rates paid by our customers are strictly to fund ongoing operations and maintenance for existing customers, plus the amount of water delivered through their connections.
The communities of West Placer County are growing rapidly, including Roseville, Rocklin, Loomis, and Lincoln. This presents challenges, of course, but also opportunities. It feeds the demand for housing, creates jobs, and inspires opportunity among people young and old who see Placer County as we do--a great place to live and work. PCWA has a vital role to play in supporting those dreams.
One of the big projects we’re working on to serve that growth is a new water treatment plant. This plant, part of a larger program we’re calling the Ophir Project, will be located on the western flank of the city of Auburn, close to our existing American River canyon raw-water pump and pipeline infrastructure. The Ophir Project has been in the works for decades, and the Ophir Water Treatment Plant is the final step to bringing our American River water to customers’ homes.
The Ophir plant is in its planning phase and construction is expected to start in 2025. Initially, the plant will have a capacity to treat 10 million gallons of water per day (MGD) and is designed to be enlarged in two steps, eventually reaching full capacity at 30 MGD.
But a new plant like this can’t contribute to the system without pipelines to deliver its water where it’s needed. So those projects are in the works, too. We’ve completed a cornerstone pipeline, which will link the new Ophir plant with our existing Foothill plant, and the plumbing network it serves.
Additional new pipelines are planned to deliver Ophir’s treated water to the developing Bickford Ranch community near Lincoln, the Placer One community near Roseville, and other new communities in between. Our plan includes new water storage tanks along these pipeline routes to ensure adequate pressure and supply.
These projects are just part of our long-range infrastructure plan. We continue to build upon the foundation for reliability today while anticipating the needs for tomorrow.
In summary: Yes, we have water to serve the growth that’s coming. And we’re working diligently to get that water where it’s needed. It’s a big job, and it’s a job we take seriously to maintain the quality of life current and future generations can enjoy.