You are now in Home Headline Media Coverage San Diego County category.

Toxic Waste Still a Problem for El Cajon Neighborhoods

From 1963 to 1985, aerospace manufacturing company Senior Aerospace Ketema (formerly Am­etek) in El Cajon dumped thousands of pounds of a chemical degreaser into a shallow redwood-lined pit that sat on its property.

This resulted in a toxic groundwater plume of trichloroethylene, which travels through the soil by a process called soil vapor intrusion into the three large mobile home parks surrounding the facility — Greenfield, Starlight and Villa Cajon — as well as Magnolia Elementary School.

This caused related illnesses among residents and students alike. The air in one mobile home at the school had more than twice the amount that triggered an immediate closure of Magnolia El­ementary in the 2015-16 school year due to health concerns. TCE is known to cause a variety of cancers, cause re­productive harm, damage the immune system, and can cause dizziness, headaches, and confusion.

Water Agencies Team Up to Reduce Potable Water Use

The Olivenhain Municipal Water District and Leucadia Wastewater District are reducing potable water use by switching to recycled water to flush sewer lines in their service areas.

With the recent installation of new equipment by both agencies, recycled water is now available to Leucadia for sewer line maintenance in the Village Park neighborhood in Encinitas and in the La Costa neighborhood in Carlsbad.

New California Law Creates Pathway to Water Industry Jobs for Military Veterans

Legislation co-sponsored by the San Diego County Water Authority and the Otay Water District is intended to make it easier for military veterans to launch careers in the water industry.

After Lt. Jose Martinez retired from the U.S. Navy in 2007, he went from serving his country underwater to serving reliable, high quality water to a community. 

His experience aboard a nuclear submarine and on the management staff of Otay Water District shares a few commonalities. Both involve highly complex systems, which often operate away of the public eye, either underwater or underground. 

“People turn on the tap and out comes water,” said Martinez, General Manager for ACWA-member Otay Water District. “It seems rather simple, but it’s really complex. It’s fascinating to me.”

City of Oceanside to Break Ground on Pure Water Oceanside

Marking a historic moment for the city of Oceanside and the region, city officials and water industry leaders will break ground on Pure Water Oceanside on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. at the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility. Scheduled to be completed before the end of 2021, Pure Water Oceanside will be on the map as the first operating recycled water project in San Diego County.

Pure Water Oceanside will purify recycled water using state-of-the-art purification technology that replicates and accelerate nature’s natural recycling process to create a new local source of high-quality drinking water that is clean, safe, drought-proof and environmentally sound. Pure Water Oceanside will lead the way in the region in providing a sustainable water supply for its residents, businesses and visitors. Once finished, the project will provide more than 32% of the city of Oceanside’s water supply, or 3-5 million gallons per day.

At the groundbreaking, Congressman Mike Levin, City of Oceanside Water Utilities Director Cari Dale, San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra Kerl, Bureau of Reclamation Area Manager Jack Simes and Metropolitan Water District Special Projects Manager Meena Westford will discuss the many benefits of the project – including reducing dependence on increasingly expensive imported water, safeguarding against drought and ensuring an exceptionally pure drinking water supply is available for future generations.

California Attorney General Becerra Says EPA’s Proposed Standards for Lead in Drinking Water Fails the Test Americans Expect

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, leading a 10-state coalition, on Wednesday filed comments on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed amendments to nationwide standards for controlling and remediating lead in drinking water, also known as the Lead and Copper Rule. The EPA’s proposed revisions represent the first major amendments in a generation to the Lead and Copper Rule, which was first promulgated in 1991. Although some of the proposed revisions strengthen the 1991 rule, others weaken existing requirements and fail to adequately protect the public from lead in drinking water.

Washington Lawmakers Open Groundwater Fight Against Bottled Water Companies

Washington state, land of sprawling rainforests and glacier-fed rivers, might soon become the first in the nation to ban water bottling companies from tapping spring-fed sources.

The proposal is one of several efforts at the state and local level to fend off the fast-growing bottled water industry and protect local groundwater. Local activists throughout the country say bottling companies are taking their water virtually for free, depleting springs and aquifers, then packaging it in plastic bottles and shipping it elsewhere for sale.

Will California Get Another Wildflower Super Bloom? Here’s What the Experts Predict

A lackluster winter rain season has left much of California on the cusp of a drought — so what does that mean for the state’s much-Instagrammed wildflowers?

Particularly rainy winters yielded super blooms throughout the state in 2017 and 2019, from the Carrizo Plain National Monument in San Luis Obispo County all the way down to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park east of San Diego.

In spring 2019, photo-seeking visitors packed places like Walker Canyon near Lake Elsinore just south of Los Angeles, where a California poppy bloom drew “Disneyland-size crowds.”

Bacteria at the Water Fountain: How San Diego Scientists Use E. Coli to Test for Toxins in Water

It’s not always easy to tell if the water you’re drinking is safe. Some ways to check include lab testing and filters. And soon it could include E. coli bacteria. San Diego scientists are developing a new bacteria-based water sensing technology.

At Edison Elementary School in City Heights on a December afternoon, excited school children are grabbing their favorite foods and drinks.

It is well known that what children consume here impacts their brains and bodies. From the teriyaki chicken to the drinking water at the nearby fountain.