A recent wastewater spill on Glorietta Boulevard served as a reminder that Coronado’s underground pipe system is old and will require an expensive overhaul, according to City Manager Tina Friend.
On July 16, about 2,000 gallons of sewage leaked into Glorietta Bay due to a pipe obstruction. The bay was closed for about a day for testing by San Diego County before reopening on July 17.
Friend told the City Council this week that clay pipes in the area are 70 years old. A tree root had penetrated the pipe, creating an obstruction that backed up sewage, forcing it to come through a manhole near the intersection of Glorietta Boulevard and Monterey Avenue.
The wastewater then seeped into a storm drain and flowed into the bay. Friend mentioned the city’s capital improvement program, which includes projects assessing its underground pipe system.
Because of Coronado’s flat landscape, 17 pump stations are required to move sewage to Point Loma’s wastewater treatment plant. The city has 45 miles of underground pipes that transport about 2.3 million gallons of sewage per day.
“We are prioritizing infrastructure,” Friend said, reminding residents that the city has $3.2 million currently programmed for wastewater projects.
Some projects listed in the city’s capital improvement plan are to identify existing wastewater mains and manholes across the city that need rehabilitation, evaluate response readiness to emergency scenarios like pump and collection system failures that would prevent effluent transportation, and keep the Cays Pump Station in adequate condition.
The new sewer rates passed earlier this year are helping cover the costs to upgrade and maintain sewer pipelines.
One project that’s been in development since 2023 successfully commissioned earlier in July. City staff has taken operational control over the new $32 million Parker Pump Station following a 10-day operational test. The facility handles both stormwater and sanitary sewer flows.
The upgrade follows a major 2024 storm that left parts of Coronado submerged under up to five feet of water. The city had said the station was turned off at the time due to water build-up that would have short circuited the electrical controls, but the modern replacement is designed to prevent similar failures.
