You are now in Agency News News category.

Sweetwater Authority Logo 2019Sweetwater Authority Logo 2019

Sweetwater Authority’s Governing Board Approves Cost-Saving Measure for Customers

/in , /by

Chula Vista, Calif. – On Wednesday, September 25, the Sweetwater Authority (Authority) Governing Board voted unanimously to approve measures to maintain water affordability and share operational savings with its customers. As a result, the average customer will actually see their bill go down in the future.

The Governing Board, as part of its Strategic Work Plan effort for the year, voted to reduce its Wholesale Water Purchase Rate to offset other increases so that the average Authority customer will see a slight decrease in their water bill next year. The Authority’s new rate structure will go into effect on January 1, 2020.

Download File

Los Angeles Still Has A Feed-In Tariff. And It’s Growing

/in , /by /PV Magazineby Christian Roselund

It’s odd to be writing about an active feed-in tariff (FiT) in 2019. The policy which accelerated Germany into a 7 GW+ market annually and kick-started the global solar market had its heyday nearly a decade ago, with feed-in tariffs being introduced across Europe and Asia. This led to spectacular market growth but also dramatic crashes when the ambition of the market created exceeded these policies’ political support.

Full Story

Bill to Blunt Trump Environment Policy Vetoed in California

/in , /by /Associated Pressby Adam Beam

Engaged in environmental battles with the Trump administration on multiple fronts, California Gov. Gavin Newsom angered some allies on Friday by vetoing a bill aimed at blunting federal rollbacks of clean air and endangered species regulations in the state.

The bill would have made it easier for state regulators to counter the Trump administration’s efforts to change enforcement of the federal Endangered Species Act and other environmental pillars — at least in California.

Full Story

‘Farming the Sun:’ As Water Goes Scarce, Can Solar Farms Prop Up The Valley?

/in , /by /Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

On the Changala family farm in Tulare County, the past and future are separated by a dirt road and a barbed-wire fence.

On the south side sits a wheat field. On the north, a solar farm, built three years ago, sending electricity to thousands of Southern Californians. Alan Changala sees little difference between the two.

Full Story

MWD Extends Lake Skinner Lease

/in , /by /Valley News (Temecula)by Joe Naiman

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California owns land around Lake Skinner which is leased to the Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District. The lease arrangement allows recreational activity on the land with the county park district having responsibility for operations and maintenance. The lease agreement was to have expired in 2030, but a Sept. 10 MWD board vote extended that lease through 2049.

Full Story

San Diego’s Landmark Water Recycling Program Halted by Dispute Over Union Workers

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Garrick

San Diego’s $4 billion plan to boost the city’s water independence is facing delays and cost increases thanks to a legal dispute over the use of unionized construction workers.

A judge issued an injunction in June that halted the project, a recycling system called “Pure Water” that would purify treated sewage into drinking water and supply one-third of the city’s water supply by 2035.

Full Story

MWD Approves Conjunctive Use Project Subsidy

/in , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has a subsidy program for projects which produce local supply and the projects MWD will fund now include the Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project.

MWD’s board vote Sept. 10 approved the agreement with the San Diego County Water Authority and the Fallbrook Public Utility District. FPUD is expected to receive $23,637,500 in incentive payments over a 25-year period.

Major Water Pipe Running from Temecula to Chula Vista Shut Off to Fix Crack

/in , , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Joe Little Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Several engineers will spend the next few weeks 20 feet underground fixing a crack in a large water pipeline that spans almost the entire length of San Diego County.

The San Diego County Water Authority discovered a leak earlier this month in a portion of its 90-inch Pipeline 4, which has carried water since 1966 from the Skinner Water Treatment Plant near Temecula down to the Otay Reservoir near Chula Vista.

“We have very old, aging infrastructure so we’re always keeping tabs on things to make sure we can stay ahead of any failures or issues with our pipe,” said SDCWA Principal Engineer Brent Fountain.

Full Story

Often Short of Water, California’s Southern Central Coast Builds Toward a Drought-Proof Supply

/in , , /by /Water Education Foundationby Gary Pitzer

The southern part of California’s Central Coast from San Luis Obispo County to Ventura County, home to about 1.5 million people, is blessed with a pleasing Mediterranean climate and a picturesque terrain. Yet while its unique geography abounds in beauty, the area perpetually struggles with drought.

Indeed, while the rest of California breathed a sigh of relief with the return of wet weather after the severe drought of 2012–2016, places such as Santa Barbara still grappled with dry conditions.

Full Story

San Diego County Now Offering Discounted Rain ‘Harvesting’ Barrels

/in , /by /Patch.comby Gig Conaughton

The rainy season is coming, but you still have time to get a discounted rain barrel to “harvest” the upcoming rains, cut your watering costs and protect local beaches by reducing pollution. Through Oct. 13, County residents can get a discounted, top-of-the-line, $90 Ivy rain barrel — a cost that could shrink to as little as $25 — by ordering one online, thanks to San Diego County’s Watershed Protection Program and the nonprofit Solana Center.

Full Story