Although California is experiencing a drier than normal winter so far, San Diego County has enough water to meet demand in 2018 and into next year, said local water officials. San Diego County has enough water to meet its needs due to a number of factors, said Jeff Stephenson, principal water resources specialist with the San Diego County Water Authority, the region’s water wholesaler.
It’s a repeat of the unusually hot, dry and windy weather that helped fuel huge brush fires in December. Since the end of last February, downtown Los Angeles has seen just 2.26 inches of rain — an anemic amount over an 11-month period. Los Angeles has seen just 28% of its average precipitation since October — with most of it coming from the rainstorm that caused the deadly mudslides in Santa Barbara County.
A broken water main flooded parts of Coronado Tuesday forcing hours-long closures of multiple streets, according to city officials. The flow of debris and water rushed dangerously close to businesses and transformer boxes. Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey tweeted that the flooding was due to a large 16-inch water main that broke on B Avenue. A sinkhole measuring approximately 200 square feet opened up.
News 8 continues to receive emails from viewers who are upset over water bills that are hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars higher than normal. San Diego District 6 Council Member Chris Cate said since News 8 launched its water investigation last week, his office has been inundated with calls. “This is just not explainable and we need to know what is happening. We have seen instances where we have seen 400 percent increases in a person’s water usage in one billing period,” said Cate.
The pear trees are already blooming in Celeste Cantú’s garden. She usually sees the blossoms appear in late February, but this winter’s extreme warmth triggered the bloom a full month early. As the thermometer hit 80 degrees in her garden, she snapped a photo of the blossoms and posted it on Facebook with the question: “Do you think the three weeks of winter are over in So Ca?” A winter heat wave has settled over the Southwest and is bringing record-high temperatures to parts of Southern California, along with dry, gusty winds that have prompted warnings of fire danger.
Just about one year ago, the collapse of two spillways at Oroville Dam forced the frantic evacuation of 188,000 people, caused millions of dollars in property damage and triggered hundreds of lawsuits. Earlier this month, an independent forensic team found that decades of reckless mismanagement by the California Department of Water Resources caused the crisis. Instead of making needed changes, Sacramento has responded by increasing the department’s control.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is giving away more than $1 million a year in ratepayer money to charities and nonprofits, an investigation by CBS2’s David Goldstein has uncovered. He also found money going to one non-profit that has a DWP executive sitting on the board.
Looking for a way to spruce up your yard and trim water use at the same time? The San Diego County Water Authority is here to help with two new sessions of the four-part WaterSmart Landscape Makeover Series starting in March.
These free, award-winning and interactive classes teach the steps for successfully converting high-water-use turf areas to WaterSmart landscapes during four classes over consecutive weeks. Participants learn from local landscape professionals about soil, project planning and design, turf removal, plant selection, irrigation, efficiency and rainwater harvesting. Each series culminates with experts helping homeowners create personalized landscape makeover plans.
The first class begins March 5 at the Water Authority’s headquarters in Kearny Mesa. Another four-part series, also at the Kearny Mesa facility, begins March 28. Each class is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Preregistration and a commitment to attend all four classes in the series is required. Applicants must also identify existing turf areas to remove at their homes and have in-ground, working irrigation systems to qualify.
Class details and an online application form are at landscapemakeover.watersmartsd.org/classes. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis; applicants may join a waitlist if their desired session is full.
“Participants rave about how these classes not only instruct, but inspire them to do more with their yards by enhancing their landscapes while increasing water-use efficiency,” said Mark Muir, chair of the Water Authority’s Board of Directors. “Since the landscape makeover series began in April 2014, participants have cut their average household water use by about a third because of their WaterSmart landscape upgrades.”
The class series is recommended – but not required – for residents interested in following guidelines set by the Sustainable Landscapes Program. The grant-funded partnership, known as the SLP, was created by the Water Authority, the City of San Diego, the County of San Diego, the Surfrider Foundation, the California American Water Company and the Association of Compost Producers. The SLP promotes landscape upgrades that comply with a more rigorous set of design criteria than other turf replacement programs. It includes climate-appropriate plants and high-efficiency irrigation equipment, rainwater capture and detention features, and soil amendments to improve water efficiency. The Water Authority recently installed the Sustainable Landscaping Demonstration Garden at its Kearny Mesa headquarters at 4677 Overland Ave. in San Diego. Visitors to the demonstration garden can view a practical, beautiful landscape that applies SLP principles that can be replicated at their homes.
A limited number of SLP incentives remain to help qualified applicants receive up to $1.75 per square foot toward eligible project costs for upgrading 500 to 3,000 square feet of existing turf areas to sustainable landscapes. For more information about the SLP, including program resources and incentives, go to sustainablelandscapessd.org.
In addition to the four-class series, the Landscape Makeover Program offers free, three-hour WaterSmart Landscape Design Workshops – a popular first step toward implementing water-efficient landscapes. The workshops provide an introduction to skills and resources needed for a landscape makeover. The Water Authority, in partnership with its member agencies, will hold workshops in February, March and April at locations around the county. Workshop locations, times and registration details are at landscapemakeover.watersmartsd.org/design_workshop.
Residents who want to learn more about the makeover process from the comfort of their homes can view the Landscape Makeover Videos on Demand at landscapemakeover.watersmartsd.org/elearning. Those videos provide content that is similar to the workshops and class series in an online format for easy access.
March 5, 12, 19 and 26
March 28, April 4, 11 and 18
Classes are held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Water Authority’s Kearny Mesa headquarters,
4677 Overland Ave.
For details and to apply:
landscapemakeover.watersmartsd.org/classes.
If the blowup over President Trump’s new solar tariff proves anything, it proves that the renewable energy transition is inevitable. A new hydroelectricity project for the City of San Diego, California is a case in point. The city recently raised the level of an existing hydropower dam to hold more water, and now it is considering a massive new energy storage element that would help the grid support more wind and solar power.
Yosemite’s Half Dome saw a picturesque dusting of snow this past week while skiers in Tahoe welcomed a shot of fresh powder. Yet California’s Sierra Nevada is plunging deeper into a warm, dry winter that shows little sign of a turnaround. Mile-high mountainsides were low on snow Monday and alpine skies remained a stubborn summer blue. The forecast called for above-average temperatures and virtually no precipitation through at least the first 10 days of February — the third and final month of the state’s peak wet season.
