A multimillion-dollar construction project is almost done on a massive water tank in Mission Trails Regional Park. Once construction is complete, it will likely be forgotten because no one will be able to see it.
The San Diego County Water Authority is wrapping up construction on its newest flow regulatory structure on the western edge of the park. Work began in earnest at the beginning of 2021 on the five-million-gallon water tank and it’s expected to wrap up next month.
“Once this job is done, this will be under water,” said SDCWA Senior Engineer Aaron Trimm while standing inside the massive structure. “So, it will be the last time we see it until we do our routine maintenance and check-ups on the tank.”
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
Outside the tank, giant earth movers buried the tank in dirt. A SDCWA spokeswoman said it will be mostly underground by mid-May. Trimm said they’d begin filling it with water in June. That water will eventually be delivered to the SDCWA’s member agencies.
Once the construction equipment is cleared out, Water Resource Specialist Summer Adleberg’s team will then repopulate that area with California native plants and bushes to return the area’s appearance to the way it was before construction.
“The critters that use Mission Trail will come back, the hikers will come back, and no one will ever know we were here,” smiled Adleberg.
The SDCWA said the tank is another one of the investments they’ve spent billions on to make sure San Diego County has reliable water, even during droughts.
Local
“We have this infrastructure here and the public won’t even know it’s here once we’re done,” concluded Trimm.
The SDCWA said it will take at least five years before the plants and brush grow enough to blend in with the west of Mission Trails Regional Park.
