The ag community at a Friday afternoon IID water conservation meeting wanted to know what the IID plans to change with water conservation payments projected to exceed the budget by $11.7 million. IID’s conservation needs under water transfer agreements with the San Diego County Water Authority and others are 303,000 acre feet. Of that, 103,000 acre feet comes from system conservation. The rest comes from on-farm water conservation.
California’s record snowpack is melting into significant runoff this summer, filling the state’s lakes and ponds with cold, fresh water. These flows usually help prevent blue-green algae blooms, which form in waterways and are toxic to humans and can be deadly to pets. But since mid-spring, there’s been reports of the dangerous — and stinky — algae blooms across the state. “It’s interesting — and maybe a bit surprising — that we do see these blooms even after these big winters,” said Keith Bouma-Gregson, manager of the California Freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms Program.
The Sweetwater Authority 2019 “Water is Life” poster contest is one of many educational opportunities the Authority offers. The annual contest gives kindergarten through sixth grade students the chance to demonstrate how water is a precious and essential resource. By creating water-related art, students enhance their understanding of the importance of water.
The Authority invests in the education of students in its service area to foster knowledge and appreciation for the value of water, and to bring awareness to the vital service the Authority provides to its customers and community.
More than 130 students from 11 different elementary schools participated in this year’s poster contest. Submissions were judged in two categories, grades K-3 and grades 4-6. There were 19 winning posters this year. Students with a winning submission were awarded a gift certificate, an art kit and a congratulatory letter.
Of the 19 winning posters, five were deemed top winners:
Christian Chavez, grade 2, El Toyon Elementary School
Christian Chavez, grade 2, El Toyon Elementary School, National City; National School District
Adrian Haro, grade 4, El Toyon Elementary School
Adrian Haro, grade 4, El Toyon Elementary School, National City; National School District
Analynn Pascual Bermundez, grade 3, Allen Elementary School
Analynn Pascual Bermudez, grade 3, Ella B. Allen Elementary School, Bonita; Chula Vista Elementary School District
Mason Rogers, grade 3, Allen Elementary School
Mason Rogers, grade 3, Ella B. Allen Elementary School, Bonita; Chula Vista Elementary School District
Rencel Chiara Charifa, grade 5, Central Elementary School
Rencel Chiaara Charifa, grade 5, Central Elementary School, National City; National School District
The five winning posters have also been entered in the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s regional poster contest. If selected, those posters will be published in MWD’s 2020 art calendar. Regional winners will also be invited to an art exhibit and recognition luncheon at MWD’s office in downtown Los Angeles, with travel sponsored by the Sweetwater Authority.
The Sweetwater Authority 2019 “Water is Life” poster contest is one of many educational opportunities the Authority offers. The annual contest gives kindergarten through sixth grade students the chance to demonstrate how water is a precious and essential resource. By creating water-related art, students enhance their understanding of the importance of water. The Authority invests in the education of students in its service area to foster knowledge and appreciation for the value of water, and to bring awareness to the vital service the Authority provides to its customers and community. More than 130 students from 11 different elementary schools participated in this year’s poster contest.
The City of San Diego held its third ‘Pure Water Day’ Open House at the North City Water Reclamation Plant in the Miramar area, inviting residents to enjoy family-friendly activities and learn about the upcoming project construction.
More than 300 people took tours of the five-step water purification process at the demonstration facilities. Photo: City of San Diego
More than 300 people took tours of the five-step water purification process at the Pure Water Demonstration Facility and tasted the purified water produced at the facility following their tour. Residents of University City, Clairemont, and Scripps Ranch learned about Phase 1 of construction scheduled in their neighborhoods.
“We are excited to once again open our doors to the community, and share how we will deliver a new, safe, local source of drinking water for San Diego,” said John Helminski, assistant director of the San Diego Public Utilities Department.
Attendees enjoyed a variety of family-friendly activities at the third annual Pure Water Day. Photo: City of San Diego
Pure Water San Diego is a multi-year phased program using proven technology to clean recycled water to produce safe, high-quality potable water. After construction is completed, the Pure Water Program is expected to provide one-third of the City of San Diego’s water supply by 2035.
The first phase of construction includes the North City Pure Water Facility, new pump stations and pipelines, and upgrades to existing facilities. The North City Pure Water Facility will be constructed on City of San Diego owned property east of Interstate 805 and north of Eastgate Mall, across from the existing North City Water Reclamation Plant.
Purified water produced at the completed plant will be delivered to the Miramar Reservoir, blended with the City of San Diego’s imported and local water sources, and treated again at the existing Miramar Drinking Water Treatment Plant. After this process, the water will be distributed to customers. Construction of Phase 1 is expected to begin later this year and is scheduled for completion in 2023.
California, like many states, faces an infrastructure crisis, but not just the one affecting the roads we drive on, water systems we rely on, and the electricity that powers our everyday lives. As critical as it is for state and federal policy makers to focus on the resiliency of the state’s infrastructure, we also need to focus on a critical element that often is overlooked: the people who know how to build, maintain and operate the infrastructure we use every day.
Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) today introduced the bipartisan Drought Resiliency and Water Supply Infrastructure Act, a bill to improve the nation’s water supply and drought resiliency. The legislation builds on Senator Feinstein’s 2016 California drought legislation that was included in the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act. “The effects of climate change are here to stay, and one enormous effect on the West is more – and more severe – droughts,” said Senator Feinstein. “As California continues to recover from a historic drought, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory now estimates that the Sierra snowpack, a primary source of water for California, will decrease by 79 percent by the end of the century.
The City of San Diego held its third ‘Pure Water Day’ Open House at the North City Water Reclamation Plant in the Miramar area, inviting residents to enjoy family-friendly activities and learn about the upcoming project construction. More than 300 people took tours of the five-step water purification process at the Pure Water Demonstration Facility and tasted the purified water produced at the facility following their tour. Residents of University City, Clairemont, and Scripps Ranch learned about Phase 1 of construction scheduled in their neighborhoods.
San Diego looks ready to give up its money-losing plan to recycle plastic-foam food containers and packing material. A few years ago, as other cities were banning the material, commonly called Styrofoam, the San Diego City Council decided it would recycle the stuff instead. It knew then it would likely lose money, at least $90,000 a year. That may have been more palatable a few years ago because the city used to make several million dollars a year by selling other recyclables. City officials — lobbied hard by Dart Container Corporation, a plastics maker — also thought the loss was a small price to pay to make things easier on consumers and restaurant owners who preferred inexpensive, durable and insulating foam.
Cadiz operates a large agricultural property in California’s Mojave Desert at the base of a 1,300 square mile watershed with an aquifer system storing more water than Lake Mead. We currently irrigate the property with groundwater, but it’s a “tipping cup” and what we don’t use migrates to saline playas and evaporates—over 10 billion gallons lost annually. By managing the aquifer and this loss, Cadiz will sustainably provide new water to 400,000 Californians.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
