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Sweetwater Authority Expands Contract Opportunities for Local Businesses, Vendors

Doing business with Sweetwater Authority is easier than ever for local companies, thanks to revisions in the water agency’s procurement policy recently approved by its Governing Board. The revised policy created a preferential purchasing program for local businesses and directed agency staff to engage the local vendor community through a newly created vendor webpage and online form where interested businesses can submit their information to be included in the Authority’s vendor database.

Water’s Not the Issue

As the coronavirus creeps through the human population, causing social and economic turmoil, farmers discard vast quantities of food that they are abruptly unable to sell in the upended economy. The waste has been widely reported as one heartbreaking impact of the Covid-19 crisis. Part of the problem seems to be that, with restaurants closed, vegetable farmers, as well as producers of milk, eggs and meat, wound up with no one to buy their goods.

Pure Water San Diego Projects Underway After Receiving Milestone Permit

Pre-construction activities at the North City Water Reclamation Plant and the future Pure Water Facility are underway as part of Phase 1 of the Pure Water San Diego program. More than 80,000 cubic yards of soil have been moved to date during initial site work, the equivalent of approximately 25 Olympic sized swimming pools.

Last month, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted an order granting a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES permit, to the City of San Diego to add purified water to the Miramar Reservoir for Phase 1 of the Pure Water San Diego program. The approval is a major milestone for the program.

San Diego and Tijuana Announce Plans to Improve Tijuana River Water Treatment

Both United States and Mexican officials announced separate plans Tuesday to upgrade Tijuana River wastewater facilities.

The international river has been a longtime problem for residents of Imperial Beach and Tijuana, as sewage and trash from the river have spilled into the Pacific Ocean for decades, often closing beaches near the border and damaging natural habitats along the river.

The Tijuana River straddles the U.S.-Mexico border, picking up sewage and trash along its winding and cross-border path. Over the last 40 years water- treatment facilities have been overrun with sewage and trash, especially during the rainy season.

Delta Dispute Casts Shadow on Water Supplies

With supplies curtailed from California’s largest water projects, farmers have been reducing acreage, water districts have been working to secure additional supplies, and everyone has been keeping an eye on the continued dispute between state and federal governments on managing the delta.

PFAS Cleanup Backers Face Unexpected Foe: Water Utilities

After decades of inaction, the federal government has gotten serious about cleaning up PFAS, a class of compounds known as “forever chemicals” that have been linked to health problems and inhabit the bloodstream of nearly every American.

Unusual Santa Ana Winds Smash Heat Records Across San Diego County

Strong Santa Ana winds — weather that rarely occurs in June — sent temperatures soaring more than 20 degrees above normal Tuesday across San Diego County, smashing or tying records from the coast to the foothills.

“The numbers were amazing,” said Mark Moede, a forecaster at the National Weather Service.

San Diego International Airport hit 93 degrees, which is 24 degrees above normal. Chula Vista reached 92 and Encinitas hit 90.

RSF Association Supports Local Candidate for SFID Board Vacancy

The Rancho Santa Fe Association board unanimously supported nominating Frank Creede to fill the vacancy on the Santa Fe Irrigation District board, representing Division 1. As the Santa Fe Irrigation (SFID) board failed to appoint a new director to fill the seat vacated by Ken Dunford last month, the appointment now moves on to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to decide.

Opinion: County Farm Bureaus Innovate During Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shelter-in-place protocols and safety concerns disrupted rural communities and markets for agricultural products. Around California, county Farm Bureaus responded with innovative solutions intended to help their members ensure safety of themselves, their families and their employees, and to promote and sell crops and commodities in new and rapidly changing conditions.

Here are three examples among many, showing how county Farm Bureaus in California have supported their members and their communities.

While Some Farmers Face New Challenges Amid COVID-19, Others Have Found Success

In California, farms have not been immune to COVID-19. A Farm Bureau Federation survey recently found that more than half of farms across the state have lost customers or sales due to pandemic. Small family farms are especially vulnerable.