Building Efficient Booster Pump Stations: Execution Insights from Telemark
As communities grow, the demand on local water infrastructure grows with them. The City of Santa Clarita and the FivePoint Valencia development are experiencing exactly that — steady expansion that requires modern, reliable facilities to keep potable and recycled water flowing.
Caliagua has been contracted by FivePoint to construct the Telemark Potable and Recycled Water Booster Pump Station for the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency (SCV Water). Located at the corner of Adventure Avenue and Telemark Street, the new station will house concrete masonry unit (CMU) buildings, site piping, booster pump systems, and a new electrical service with modern controls
Caliagua’s role: To build the project to specification, execute the underground work with precision, and deliver a facility that SCV Water can rely on for decades.
A Growing Community and Growing Demand
Santa Clarita has grown rapidly over the past several decades, and the trend is expected to continue. SCV Water currently serves nearly 290,000 residents, a number projected to rise to over 360,000 by 2030 and more than 430,000 by 2050. Within that growth, the FivePoint Valencia master-planned community alone is expected to add as many as 65,000 new residents at full build-out.
That kind of growth has direct implications for water demand. Potable water requirements increase as new homes, schools, and businesses come online. Irrigable (recycled) water demand rises with the addition of landscaped open space, community parks, and trail systems that are hallmarks of Valencia’s design. The Telemark Booster Pump Station is one of the key facilities being built to ensure this community expansion is matched with reliable water infrastructure.
The Importance of Underground Utility Execution
While the most visible features of a pump station are the buildings and pumps, its efficiency is truly determined underground. At Telemark, Caliagua’s first milestones include trenching, pump cans, drainage, duct banks, and underground piping.
The project specifications require strict surveying and staking of utilities to maintain correct grades and alignments. What we have to consider during utility surveying:
The project site is surrounded by existing and planned underground utilities — potable and recycled water lines, sewer and storm drain systems, Southern California Edison power lines and duct banks, natural gas distribution, and a web of telecommunications and fiber optic lines. All of these must be precisely located, staked, and protected before excavation begins.
Proper compaction, watertight joints, and accurately routed conduits aren’t glamorous — but they are what prevent leaks, settlement, or electrical issues years down the line. Getting these invisible systems right the first time protects the reliability of the entire facility.
Work Restrictions and Coordination
Efficiency is about more than construction speed — it’s about sequencing. Telemark is surrounded by other active projects, including tank construction, water and sewer lines, and Southern California Edison’s utility work
Our crews must coordinate with these overlapping activities while minimizing disruptions to the existing potable and recycled water systems.
SCV Water requires uninterrupted operation of its networks, meaning all tie-ins and shutdowns must be carefully planned and approved. Caliagua’s role is to schedule work so that the underground phase progresses smoothly, without jeopardizing surrounding facilities or delaying other contractors.
Quality Control: the Bridge to Long-Term Operations
The specifications call for more than installation — they demand documentation, testing, and verification. Caliagua implements daily reporting, rigorous backfill and pipeline testing, and continuous schedule tracking through CPM methods. Caliagua is meticulous in the steps we take to maintain quality control through the life of a project. A partial list includes:
- Daily construction reports / logs: documenting what trenching / pipe-laying / backfill occurred, what issues (if any) arose, weather conditions, inspections done.
- Material certification: manufacturer’s certificates for pipes, rebar, concrete mix, valves, pumps, etc., confirming they meet specified standards.
- Pipe pressure / leakage testing: after installation, before backfill – that pipe joints hold pressure (hydrostatic tests) or pass leakage limits.
- Disinfection records (for potable water lines): chlorine disinfection, flush testing, bacteriological tests.
- Concrete tests: slump, compressive strength (cylinders or cores), curing temperature / moist curing as required.
- Inspection checklists: for each phase – piping, electrical, drainage, etc.
These measures are the bridge between construction and long-term operations, ensuring SCV Water inherits infrastructure that performs as intended from day one.
Why Construction Execution Matters:
By managing installation with attention to detail, Caliagua ensures SCV Water’s modern SCADA systems will operate reliably for decades. Conversely, potential mistakes such as
mis-routed conduits, shallow installations, poor moisture sealing, undersized wiring, or inadequate grounding can lead to corrosion, equipment failure, or even unsafe conditions. A costly mistake can cost tens of thousands of dollars in labor and materials and can potentially delay commissioning by weeks. More serious errors, such as water intrusion in control panels could require full equipment replacement and extend schedules by months.
Managing Constraints: Building in a Growing Neighborhood
Construction doesn’t happen in isolation. Telemark sits at the edge of Valencia, a master-planned community designed for families, commuters, and professionals seeking quality of life in Los Angeles County. Santa Clarita’s demographics skew toward young families and middle-income households, with a strong focus on schools, parks, and recreation.
For these residents, disruption matters. That’s why the project specifications set strict work-hour restrictions — 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, and no work on Sundays or holidays
Noise, dust, and traffic safety controls are mandatory. Caliagua’s crews plan trenching, pump can installation, and utility tie-ins around these requirements, minimizing impact on neighbors while maintaining progress.
These constraints demand precision planning. Every underground milestone has to be completed in a way that respects the surrounding community and this discipline keeps the project efficient.
Looking Ahead: Pump Cans and Utilities as Key Milestones
As Caliagua moves out of the pre-construction phase and into active construction, the month ahead is pivotal. Our teams will complete the pump cans, underground piping, drainage, and electrical work that form the foundation of the entire station. These early milestones are critical to the long-term efficiency of the facility, ensuring SCV Water can provide both potable and recycled water to homes, businesses, parks, and landscapes throughout the FivePoint Valencia community.
Conclusion
At Telemark, Caliagua is efficiently building important water infrastructure into reality. By executing underground utilities with precision, coordinating seamlessly with concurrent projects, and maintaining rigorous quality standards, we are constructing a facility that will serve Santa Clarita for decades.
The efficiency of a booster pump station depends not just on what’s engineered, but on how it’s built. At Caliagua, we take pride in delivering construction that transforms specifications into lasting infrastructure for growing communities.
Early Photos from the new Telemark project:
