Oakland, Calif. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has granted $2.7 million to earthquake retrofit two critical water tanks at the R.E. Badger Water Filtration Plant in San Diego County. Completion of the project will ensure as many as 60,000 residents in the Santa Fe Irrigation District and San Dieguito Water District receive filtered, potable, and uninterrupted water following a major earthquake.
The project includes retrofitting the washwater tank by adding stiffeners to the lower two courses of steel plates around the tank and replacing the foundation with a grade beam, micropiles, and new anchors. The clearwell tank will be strengthened by adding a concrete curb to the base of the existing wall and reducing the soil backfill height to one-foot above the tank.
R.E. Badger Water Filtration Plant serves the communities of Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, and Fairbanks Ranch. If not completed, a large seismic event could put the plant out of service for up to six months, which may lead to contaminated or unsanitary drinking water, property losses from the inability to extinguish post-seismic fires, and additional expenses to import water from out of town. Once finished, the earthquake retrofit will mitigate these risks, allowing the plant to continue providing life-sustaining services to nearby communities even after a large earthquake.
The $3.6 million project will be funded by a $2.7 million hazard mitigation grant from FEMA, with non-federal sources covering the remaining $900,000.
FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program helps states, territories, federally-recognized tribes, local communities and certain private, non-profit organizations become more resilient to potential infrastructure damage and reduce future disaster costs.
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