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Cross-Border Water Issues Need Cross-Border Solutions

Regional collaboration and partnerships are needed to solve cross-border water issues, according to San Diego County Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer.

“The Water Authority is exploring innovative solutions to increase water supply reliability for the San Diego region, but also Baja California and the Southwest,” said Madaffer during today’s opening ceremony of RE:BORDER 2019 at San Diego State University. “Those solutions include the possibility of a transborder water connection that can help both Mexico and the United States.”

Madaffer’s special presentation, “Stewarding a Shared Resource for the Bi-National Region,” was part of the two-day RE:BORDER 2019 conference. It continues Tuesday at the Universidad Autónoma De Baja California in Tijuana.

Bi-National Conference Tackles Border Region’s Water Issues

A bi-national conference held Monday at San Diego State University was aimed at analyzing water resources in the Baja California and San Diego border region where challenges include cross-border pollution and water scarcity, experts said.

RE:BORDER 2019 Jim Madaffer - The Water We Share

Cross-Border Water Issues Need Cross-Border Solutions

Regional collaboration and partnerships are needed to solve cross-border water issues, according to San Diego County Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer.

“The Water Authority is exploring innovative solutions to increase water supply reliability for the San Diego region, but also Baja California and the Southwest,” said Madaffer during today’s opening ceremony of RE:BORDER 2019 at San Diego State University. “Those solutions include the possibility of a transborder water connection that can help both Mexico and the United States.”

Madaffer’s special presentation, “Stewarding a Shared Resource for the Bi-National Region,” was part of the two-day RE:BORDER 2019 conference. It continues Tuesday at the Universidad Autónoma De Baja California in Tijuana.

‘The Water We Share’

The theme for the inaugural binational conference is “The Water We Share.” The goal is to forge regional solutions for transborder water issues by breaking down academic, political, and administrative boundaries.

Tijuana River Watershed - RE:BORDER 2019 - San Diego

The Tijuana River Watershed covers 1,750 square miles – three-fourths lies in Mexico and includes the cities of Tijuana and Tecate. Graphic: USFWS/Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve

In his opening remarks, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, was optimistic about solving Tijuana sewage issues, such as polluted runoff flowing into the Tijuana River causing beach closures in Imperial Beach and Coronado.

Momentum increasing for cross-border solutions

“I’ve never seen more momentum than I have in the past six months to solve this cross-border sewage issue,” said Faulconer. “It is a true international issue that we can solve.”

State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel at RE:BORDER 2019 - WNN

State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel delivered the keynote address at the binational conference “RE:BORDER 2019 at San Diego State University on November 25. Photo: Water Authority

‘Borders are arbitrary, but we are connected’

California State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel delivered the keynote address.

“The borders are arbitrary, but we are completely connected,” Esquivel told a crowd of about 200 people in Montezuma Hall. “Infrastructure investments are needed on both sides of the border, and we know with climate change, the entire watershed will be an entirely different place in the future.”

Day 2 sessions in Tijuana will examine how the transborder region will be affected by climate change – including greater risks of floods, landslides and wildfires – how reduced water for agriculture could impact the region, and on-going concerns about uneven access to water resources.

RE:BORDER is a new initiative from San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre that each year will examine a significant issue.  The RE:Border 2020 conference is scheduled for November 12 and 13.

Board Supports Countywide Vote on Potential Member Agency Detachment

The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors last week authorized actions to seek to ensure all San Diego County voters are heard on plans by the Rainbow and Fallbrook water agencies to leave the regional water wholesaler and instead join a Riverside County water agency.

The Board of Directors approved a resolution to ask the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission – known as San Diego LAFCO – to require approval by voters across the Water Authority’s service area of any proposed “detachment” by the Rainbow Municipal Water District and the Fallbrook Public Utility District from the Water Authority. Detachment from the Water Authority has potential impacts for water agencies, fire districts and water ratepayers across San Diego County.

Powerful Winter Storm is on the Menu for Thanksgiving Week in Southern California

After a dry, tranquil day Tuesday, a cold, soggy guest will muscle its way into Southern California’s holiday plans late that night.

A deep upper-level trough of low pressure is forecast to develop over the West Coast and bring cold, wet conditions to the region from Wednesday through at least Friday, according to the National Weather Service. The system is carrying sufficient moisture to bring moderate to locally heavy precipitation and, with the cold air aloft, may generate isolated thunderstorms.

Sewage-Contamination Warning Extended to Silver Strand Shoreline

County environmental health officials expanded their ongoing closure of coastal waters Friday to include the Silver Strand shoreline due to sewage-contaminated water.

The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health first issued a water-contact closure Thursday between the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge and Border Field State Park after rainfall this week caused contaminated water in the Tijuana River to flow into U.S. waterways.

Opinion: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Muddy Water Policy

The governor was for the water grab before he was against it.

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his intention to launch the latest of dozens of legal battles between California and the Trump administration over a plan to boost water deliveries to Central Valley farmers, promising a lawsuit challenging further depletion of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and the vulnerable wildlife that depends on it.

A Study Compares How Water is Managed in Spain, California and Australia

Turning on the faucet and having water come out has become such a common daily occurrence that nobody stops to think about it. In times of abundance, everything goes smoothly. However, when rain is scarce or almost nonexistent and reservoir capacity diminishes considerably, that is when alarm bells are set off and governments scramble trying to find a solution. As they say, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.