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OPINION: California Has A Chance To Make Water History

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Jeffrey Kightlinger

California’s contemporary effort to modernize the water system in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta officially began in 2006.

George W. Bush was president Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor. Their administrations signed a planning agreement. And the search for a solution was on.

Thirteen years, two governors and two presidents later, we are all still at it.

We have yet to find ways to stabilize important water ecosystems or the reliability of water supplies for the state economy. And we are going to reach a point where we either collectively fail to achieve these two important goals despite years of efforts, or we move forward in historic and meaningful ways that undoubtedly will not please everyone.

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OPINION: East Coachella Valley Residents Speak Out For A Healthier Environment

/in , , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Lesly Figueroa and Rebecca Zaragoza

The eastern Coachella Valley stands to benefit from a pair of Sacramento decisions. Now the state needs to hear from local residents.

In April, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-10-10. It directs the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Food and Agriculture to recommend actions to help create climate-resilient water systems and healthy waterways as part of California’s Water Resilience Portfolio Initiative. This is a major step toward sustainable and equitable access to this precious resource during this climate crisis.

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Butterflies and hummingbirds aren't just visually appealing; they also provide a service to your landscape by pollinating plants. Photo: GeorgeB2/Pixabay

Attract Butterflies and Hummingbirds

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Witnessing the quick burst of color that often accompanies a butterfly or hummingbird’s flight is always exciting. It’s even more exciting when you see them in your own garden. Aside from being visually appealing, butterflies and hummingbirds also provide a service to your landscape by helping to pollinate plants. In doing so, they ensure seeds for future generations of plants.

How do you attract these beautiful garden pollinators?

Colorful, tube-shaped flowers located in sunny areas will attract hummingbirds in search of nectar. In Southern California, these tiny pollinators can stay year-round with a steady food supply. To provide this supply, try selecting a variety of plants that will bloom at different intervals throughout the year.

Hummingbirds also like shrubs and trees that provide shade where they can rest or find materials to build nests. Those cool areas are also where they can hunt insects. This can be helpful to your garden as they may eat insects harmful to other plants.

Similarly, butterflies also rely on flowers that provide nectar. They need host plants, which California native plants often are, where they can lay eggs. These eggs will hatch caterpillars, which will need to feed on nearby leaves. If you are concerned about leaves with lots of holes from hungry caterpillars, try strategically placing these plants behind other plants or in the back of your garden.

A good way to plan out where to put certain plants is by mirroring native plant communities.

Some native California plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds:

  • California Fuchsia
  • Manzanitas
  • Chaparral Currant
  • Narrowleaf Milkweed
  • Sticky Monkeyflower
  • Coyote Mint

By selecting the right types of native plants, your landscape will burst into color!

The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including tips for sustainable landscaping best practices at SustainableLandscapesSD.org and free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.

Water Authority staff inspect leak in Pipeline 4

Pipeline 4 Repairs Underway in North San Diego County

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A recently discovered leak in a section of a pipeline in North County will be repaired in coming months while Pipeline 4 returns to service.

Crews have installed bulkheads in the pipeline to isolate a portion of Pipeline 4 for repairs. This will allow the pipeline to continue treated water deliveries throughout the county in a modified fashion starting the week of Sept. 16 and restores full service to retail water agencies. With the leaky section isolated, crews will make necessary repairs.

Four Water Authority member agencies – Fallbrook PUD, Rainbow MWD, Valley Center MWD, and Vallecitos Water District – have taken steps to manage water supplies while the pipeline was shut down to install the bulkheads.

Carbon fiber section will protect pipe

In August, Water Authority crews detected a leak in the 90-inch diameter Pipeline 4, one of five major pipelines the agency operates. The leaky section is near Camino Del Rey in Bonsall, in an area with no adjacent homes or business.

To find the cause of the leak, the Water Authority dewatered the pipe starting Sept. 9. Preliminary results of the investigation are that a weld seam, connecting a steel pipe section to a pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe, separated in an area of very high water pressure.

The Water Authority is preparing to install a carbon fiber liner to give the pipeline several more years of service while a longer-term solution is developed and deployed.

After repairs are completed, a second 10-day shutdown of Pipeline 4 will be needed to remove the bulkheads and return the pipeline to full, normal operations.

Proactive approach keeps pipelines healthy

As part of its proactive approach to asset management, the Water Authority continually assesses and rehabilitates pipelines serving the San Diego region. The agency operates 310 miles of large-diameter pipelines, along with 1,600 aqueduct-related structures, and approximately 100 metering/flow-control facilities.

Approximately 82 miles of the pipelines are pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipes. These types of pipes were installed between the early 1960s and late 1980s, and have experienced premature failures and shown areas of degradation.

By relining the pipes or conducting timely repairs with the latest technology, the Water Authority has avoided major pipeline failures for more than decade.

 

As Wildfires Worsen, U.S. Forest Service Seeks 1,500 Temporary Workers In California

/in , /by /The Sunby Steve Scauzillo

With temperatures rising due to global climate change and millions of forest trees dying from heat and pest infestations every year, the potential for more wildfires is real.

To combat this growing threat, the U.S. Forest Service on Monday, Sept. 16, began accepting applications for 1,500 temporary jobs to work in the 18 national forests across the state next spring and summer, said Brenda Kendrix, a USFS spokesperson for the Pacific Region in Vallejo.

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OPINION: California Must Not Fall For Marketing Scheme That Falsely Claims To Protect Tropical Forests

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Katie Valenzuela and Leila Salazar-Lopez

Imagine we were presenting you with an investment opportunity. It would cost a lot, and similar programs have failed miserably.

Human rights violations would very likely occur. There are more viable alternatives available with similar (or lower) costs, but we’re asking you to invest anyway because we are certain we could figure out a way to make a failed program work this time.

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City Breaks Ground On Water Desalter

/in , /by /The Camarillo Acorn by Hector Gonzalez

Nearly 25 years after first detecting problems with local groundwater supplies, city officials broke ground Wednesday on the $66.3 million North Pleasant Valley Groundwater Desalter.

Set to be completed in late 2021, the facility will include a treatment plant, three monitoring wells and 2,000 feet of pipeline on 5 acres of currently vacant land near Las Posas and Somis roads.

About 20% of the project’s total cost is being offset by federal and state grants, as well as Metropolitan Water District incentives.

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San Diego’s Climate Crisis: The Risks And Costs Of Living In The Backcountry

/in , /by /KPBSby Claire Trageser

Pete Beauregard squints in the morning sun as he thinks back to October 22, 2007.

“That wind hit us at about 120 mph, wind with fire,” he said. “It came head on and it was like a blow torch, it just cut everything to the ground.”

He’s talking about the Witch Creek Fire, which engulfed San Diego County that fall — scorching nearly 200,000 acres, forcing half a million evacuations and destroying more than 1,000 homes. Among them was the Ramona home shared by Beauregard and his wife Amy McQuillan.

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Will Climate Change Mean Less Farming in the West?

/in , , /by /Civil Eats by Twilight Greenaway

Colorado and California are rethinking water management for a hotter, drier future, while balancing urban water needs with the benefits agriculture brings to rural communities.

Most years, ranchers in Wyoming irrigate their land with water from the Green River—a tributary of the Colorado—in the summer so they have forage to feed their cattle late in the season.

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WateReuse Symposium Showcases City of San Diego’s Pure Water

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Locally-roasted coffee and home brewed beer made with purified recycled water from the City of San Diego’s Pure Water Demonstration Facility was showcased Sept. 10 in San Diego during two special events at the 34th annual WateReuse Symposium.

Pure Water San Diego presented two events featuring beverages made with a key ingredient: purified recycled water.

In the afternoon, symposium attendees were served hot- and cold-brewed coffee made by locally-owned Bird Rock Coffee Roasters. In the evening, a symposium reception featured a “Pure Brew” competition where attendees judged the best of 10 home brewed beers from members of San Diego’s Quality Ale and Fermentation Fraternity.

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