Public comments are requested on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for a wastewater project.

Notice of AvailabilityQuail Valley Subarea 4 ProjectDraft Programmatic Environmental Impact Report
Eastern Municipal Water District (District), as the Lead Agency, has prepared a Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to provide the public and responsible/trustee agencies with information about the potential effects on the environment associated with implementing the proposed Quail Valley Subarea 4 Project (proposed Project). The proposed Project is located within the Quail Valley community of Menifee, California, and encompasses “Subarea 4,” which is one of nine subareas within the Quail Valley community. The Quail Valley community is situated within the service area of the District. Quail Valley has experienced ongoing failures of private septic system that pose a threat to public health and water quality both within the community and downstream in Canyon Lake. As a vital water source, residential area, and recreational destination, Canyon Lake serves the public in multiple capacities.
The proposed Project seeks to establish a robust and comprehensive wastewater collection and conveyance system that provides consistent and reliable service to all Quail Valley Subarea 4 residences consistent with all established District standards, while also safeguarding public health, public water resources, and enhancing the overall well-being of the Quail Valley and Canyon Lake communities. The proposed Project would construct approximately 10 miles of 8-inch and 12-inch polyvinyl chloride gravity main pipe, approximately 1.1 miles of force mains, 247 manholes, 24 connector pipes, 1 regional lift station (LS-1), and 4 smaller lift stations (LS-2, LS-3, LS-4, and LS-5). LS-1 would convey the majority of wastewater flows originating from Subarea 4. To connect Subarea 4 to LS-1, 24 connector pipes would be installed to link streets and facilitate gravity flows. To accomplish this, connector pipes would be required to traverse private properties. Construction is planned to be carried out in eight phases, to be implemented over an approximately 20-year period.
The District is soliciting comments from the public regarding the content of the Draft PEIR. The Draft PEIR describes the environmental impacts of the proposed Project. The Draft PEIR identified one significant and unavoidable impact related to pipeline construction noise. All other potentially significant impacts are determined to be mitigated to less than significant levels with incorporation of mitigation measures. The Draft PEIR is available electronically at: https://www.emwd.org/public-notice. Copies of the Draft PEIR are located at the District’s office lobby (2270 Trumble Road, Perris, CA 92570). Hard copies of the Draft PEIR have been delivered to the Menifee Public Library (28798 La Piedra Road, Menifee, CA 92584).
The Draft PEIR will be used by the District Board of Directors when considering approval of the proposed Project. The District has established a 45-day review period compliant with the requirement of Section 21091 of the Public Resources Code. The review period begins April 3, 2026 and ends May 18, 2026. Written comments on the Draft PEIR should be sent to Joe Broadhead at the District (P.O. Box 8300 Perris, CA 92572-8300; CEQA@emwd.org) by 5:00 PM on May 18, 2026. A contact name and return address or email address should be included with your comments.The Press-EnterprisePublished: 4/3/26