South Mesa breaks ground on major infrastructure project

South Mesa Water Co. broke ground last week on a major construction project to replace 26,000 feet of pipeline and continue their consolidation with the Hillcrest Mobile Home Park. The project is received a $10.2 million grant from the State Water Resources Control Board

Staff and local dignitaries from the State Water Resources Control Board, Riverside County, CalMutuals, San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District and the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency joined South Mesa at an event last Friday to mark the occasion.

The project will improve South Mesa’s aging system by drilling a new groundwater well and replacing water mains to meet current and future demand. Once complete, South Mesa will connect the failing water system serving nearby Hillcrest Mobile Estates, a severely disadvantaged community with about 500 residents that is struggling with nitrate contamination, to its distribution line.

“As a mutual water company serving a severely disadvantaged community, it is our duty to ensure clean, affordable and reliable water for our shareholders,” said South Mesa Water Co. General Manager Dave Armstrong. “This grant gives us the opportunity to extend that benefit to the Hillcrest Mobile Home Park through consolidation while making proactive investments in our local water infrastructure and supply. The grant additionally helps support our involvement in the creation of a new regional recharge basin and gives us access to State Water Project supplies, expanding the resiliency of our water for future generations.”

The project is expected to be completed in 2026.