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Water Authority Nixes Camp Pendleton Desalination Pilot Project

While the San Diego County Water Authority halts work on a pilot program for a desalination plant at Camp Pendleton, both the Claude “Bud” Lewis Desalination Plant in Carlsbad, and the North City Water Reclamation Plant in UTC are backfilling the region’s needs. For the past three years, the Water Authority has been planning a small-scale pilot facility to assess seawater intake and treatment technologies at Camp Pendleton with funding from state and federal agencies. The resulting plant would be the first in California to investigate an innovative subsurface intake technology for ocean water.

From Serial to Ethernet

In Northern San Diego County approximately 7 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean lies the town of Vista, Calif. Vista was founded in 1882 and quickly grew as its Mediterranean climate proved to be excellent for agricultural homesteaders. During the 1920s, Vista was referred to as the avocado capital of the world. But the town faced many hurdles during its growth including severe drought, a problem that Vista, like the rest of California, faces today. As the area increased in population, the Vista Irrigation District was created in 1923 to ensure a reliable source of water for the naturally arid region.

OPINION: Progress on Critical Water Issues

When I started my term as board chair of the San Diego County Water Authority in October 2016, California was mired in drought but the San Diego region had sufficient supplies regardless of the weather. Thankfully, just a few months later, epic rain and snow significantly improved water supply conditions statewide, but not before validating our long-term strategy to develop a drought-resilient portfolio of water resources that protect the region during dry times. In fact, we had enough water to store 100,000 acre-feet of water for the future – a testament to regional foresight, coordination, hard work and investments by ratepayers.

Massive Water Main Break Floods North Park Streets, Leaves Cars Partially Submerged

A massive water main break flooded numerous streets in North Park and left many vehicles partially submerged Thursday morning. San Diego water officials said a 24-inch transmission water main broke shortly before 7:30 a.m. in the 4100 block of Idaho Street, near Polk Avenue and the North Park Community Park. Several San Diego water department crews were dispatched to various nearby areas to repair the break. Water flow was shut off by 10 a.m. Officials said repairs were expected to continue through the evening.

A Race To The Finish On Oroville Dam Spillway Fix

The Lake Oroville spillway’s 400-acre construction site is an intense flurry of activity. In one corner, an excavator driver uses an old tire as a squeegee to clean away loose rock and prep a foundation. In the steeply sloping spillway chute, a crane operator flies in a rebar cage to workers who tie it into neighboring chute wall segments. Everywhere, dump trucks buzz around the circuitous roadways while rock crushers and batch plants keep pace with dozens of dozers and excavators. Drones hover in the sky photographing and surveying the site, while inspectors pour over every detail of the finished assets.

Denham Is Desperate To Stop A California Water Plan. Nothing Has Worked – Yet

Rep. Jeff Denham, one of the nation’s most vulnerable Republicans, is trying desperately to shut down a state water plan that’s widely disliked in his district. But nothing has worked so far. One thing could: Yet another lawsuit between the Department of Justice and the state of California over the issue. Denham first tried to include a provision in a congressional budget bill in July that would prevent a federal reservoir, called New Melones, from using federal dollars to participate in the plan, which would direct greater amounts of water out of his district’s water resources and into the ocean, purportedly to help salmon populations.

Directors Set New Recycled Water Rates

Two Ramona Municipal Water District (RMWD) recycled water customers can expect to pay up to $1,013 per acre foot for recycled water, an increase from $35 per acre foot in their previous 10-year agreement. RMWD directors gave their unanimous approval during two separate votes at a special meeting Sept. 28 in which RMWD’s price for recycled water was set at a rate of $1,013 per acre foot for San Diego Country Estates Association (SDCEA) and Spangler Peak Ranch. However, SDCEA can access a $450 credit to lower the cost to $563 per acre foot and terms of the deal have not been finalized.

The Last Time A Hurricane Made Landfall In California Was 160 Years Ago In San Diego, Resulting In 94 Deaths

It was the autumn of 1858, and Abraham Lincoln was on the ballot as a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois. On the national front, the Compromise of 1850 divided the nation into free and slave states and was brewing political tensions during the years leading up to the Civil War. But off the coast of California — less than a decade into statehood — a different kind of storm was approaching. Tuesday, Oct. 2, marked 160 years since the San Diego Hurricane of 1858, the only hurricane on record to make landfall on the western coast of the United States. Newspaper clippings from the time and academic research since offer a glimpse into how the skies turned above the typically sunny shores of Southern California.

New Water Year Brings Uncertainty

Monday marked the beginning of the 2019 water year. Experts say it’s hard to know what this year will bring – considering the state’s significant weather variability on a year-to-year basis – but steps are being taken to prepare in spite of the uncertainty. “It’s been relatively dry so far this past water year, but it’s no indication of what kind of year we are going to have in Water Year 2018-19,” said Mike Inamine, executive director of the Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency.

Water Desalination Report

Despite interest from state’s Department of Water Resources and a $1.4 million grant from the Bureau of Reclamation, the San Diego County Water Authority’s $2.5 million intake testing program for the proposed Camp Pendleton Seawater Desal Project has apparently been cancelled. Last week, in a letter to the State Lands Commission, the Water Authority’s general manager Maureen Stapleton said that the Authority intended to “withdraw our application for State lands Commission approval due to the extraordinary permitting challenges created by State Lands Commission staff, that go above and beyond the statutory and regulatory requirements for this project.”