Sun City Palm Desert Water Main Replacement Phase 2B Project
Summary
SCH Number
2026010395
Public Agency
Coachella Valley Water District
(CVWD)
Document Title
Sun City Palm Desert Water Main Replacement Phase 2B Project
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
1/15/2026
Document Description
The Coachella Valley Water District's (CVWD) Sun City Palm Desert Water Main Replacement Phase 2B Project (Project) will replace approximately 23,000 Linear Feet (LF) of ductile Iron Pipe (DIP) in the Sun City Palm Desert community. The community's water system was constructed between 1992 and 2003 and has experienced numerous domestic water main leaks during the past decade, caused by the area's corrosive soils damaging existing DIP water mains. These leaks result in a lack of water service to customers during repairs, disruption to the community, unexpected expenses, and additional staff time to address the impacts resulting from the pipe failures. A pipeline corrosion evaluation, conducted in 2016, concluded that the existing DIP is subject to additional leaks and failure due to severe external corrosion, and all domestic water pipes in the Sun City Palm Desert community should be replaced with new pipes.
The Phase 2B project will replace approximately 23,000 LF affecting roughly 523 homes. The Project is anticipated to begin in or around January 2026 and last approximately 500 calendar days. Excavation of 4 feet will be necessary to install new DIP water lines within the community right-of-way. When the Project is completed, the old pipeline will be decommissioned and remain abandoned in place. Project construction will not disrupt service to the existing community water customers. The surrounding land uses consist of residential, open space and roadways. The project is not located within or adjacent to a conservation area associated with the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP). The sites are not subject to the CVMSHCP development mitigation fee because they were previously developed.
Contact Information
Name
Jesse Aguilar
Agency Name
Coachella Valley Water District
Job Title
Engineer II
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
Palm Desert
Counties
Riverside
Regions
Citywide
Zip
92211
Other Location Info
Sun City Palm Desert, 38180 Del Webb Boulevard, Palm Desert, CA
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
State CEQA Guidelines: §15301, §15302
Reasons for Exemption
State CEQA Guidelines 15301 (b) (Existing Facilities) consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. This includes existing facilities of both investor and publicly owned utilities used to provide electric power, natural gas, sewage, or other public utility services.
State CEQA Guidelines 15302 (c) (Replacement or Reconstruction) Class 2 consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replace, including replacement of reconstruction of existing utility system and/or facilities involving negligible or no expansion of capacity.
County Clerk
Riverside
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
Disclaimer: The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. For more information, please visit LCI’s Accessibility Site.