What is the Sterling Pump Station?

The Sterling Pump Station is a component of Western’s La Sierra Pipeline project, a five-mile underground pipeline built along La Sierra Avenue and one of multiple projects to secure the region’s local water supply. The pump station provides the technology to propel water uphill at various points along the new pipeline, providing a secure, local, and reliable water source for Western Water's customers.

Why did Western Water build the Sterling Pump Station?

Western Water provides almost 28 billion gallons of water annually to customers in Riverside County, but 55% of it is imported from Northern California, which is less reliable and travels further from source to tap. To keep rates under control and establish reliability, Western Water actively works on innovative infrastructure projects to secure a locally sourced water supply. Three projects, the expanded Chino and Arlington Desalters, the La Sierra Pipeline, and the Sterling Pump Station work together to deliver new local and reliable water supply to Western Water's service area. 

The expanded Chino and Arlington desalters extract local groundwater and purify it through reverse osmosis to create clean drinking water. The new Sterling Pump Station uses technology to pump water from the desalters uphill through the La Sierra Pipeline, a five-mile, 30-inch underground pipeline built along La Sierra Avenue. Since its completion in 2021, the pipeline carries water to the La Sierra Reservoir and then delivers it to Western Water customers. The infographic below shows how these projects will work together to secure, transport, and provide local, reliable water to the region. 

This infographic (below) highlights how the various projects Western is undertaking will work together to secure, transport, and provide local, reliable water to the region.