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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Much like solving a mystery, making informed water management decisions in California involves finding and investigating all necessary information. With data scattered across multiple locations, the process of accessing and analyzing the information can be an arduous task.
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 Pure Water San Diego. The approval is a major milestone for the program.
NPDES permits contain discharge limits, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other provisions to ensure water quality and public health. The NPDES permit issued to the City is the first for a reservoir augmentation project in the state of California.
By implementing Phase 1, the City will be able to produce and store 30 million gallons per day of local water supplies and decrease its reliance on imported water.
More than 80,000 cubic yards of soil have been moved to date during initial site work on the Pure Water San Diego project, which is the equivalent of approximately 25 Olympic sized swimming pools. Photo: City of San Diego
Phase 1 includes a series of pipelines and facilities to convey purified water to Miramar Reservoir. Adding the purified water to Miramar Reservoir will increase the reservoir’s beneficial use and optimize protection of water quality. The purified water will blend with the City’s imported sources and be treated again at the Miramar Water Treatment Plant and distributed to the public.
The purified water distribution area will include the portion of the City of San Diego that receives potable water from the Miramar Water Treatment Plant in addition to the City of Del Mar.
Phase 1 of Pure Water San Diego includes several projects: the Morena Pump Station and Pipelines, the North City Water Reclamation Plant Expansion, the North City Pure Water Facility, and the North City Pure Water Pump Station and Pipeline.
There is no tougher playground than California’s water world.
Just take a look at the zingers flying back and forth between water districts on one another’s groundwater sustainability plans posted on the Department of Water Resources’ website.
“It’s like a giant game of dodgeball,” said Dana Munn, General Manager of Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District.
About 200 million Americans, nearly two-thirds of the population, drink water containing fluoride to fight tooth decay. That could be changed by a case now on trial in a San Francisco federal court.
