Sweetwater Authority Logo 2019Mona Rios Appointed to Sweetwater Authority Governing Board
Mona Rios was appointed to serve on the Sweetwater Authority Governing Board. Her appointment was made official at the City of National City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 15.
Archive for date: December 16th, 2020
You are now in Agency News News category.
FRS II: Mission Trails Water Project Takes Shape
When looking from the right vantage point towards Mission Trails Regional Park, a brown hill can be seen. This is the San Diego County Water Authority’s Mission Trails Flow Regulatory Structure II Project, or FRS II, under construction. Once complete, the dirt hill will be leveled to its previous contours and revegetated with native plants – many seeded from plants within the park itself.
San Diego Might Not Receive Significant Rainfall During December
It’s possible that San Diego County won’t receive significant rainfall during December, which would significantly elevate the wildfire danger throughout the region, according to the National Weather Service.
“The storms that have been forming off the Pacific Northwest are not dropping into Southern California,” said Dan Gregorio, a weather service forecaster.
San Diego Utilities Department Monitors Wastewater For SARS-CoV-2
San Diego is participating in a statewide program to monitor its untreated wastewater for the virus that causes COVID-19, it was announced Tuesday. City staff have been monitoring for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2, in untreated wastewater at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant this month. Following the test run, staff will monitor for SARS-CoV-2 three times a week from January through June 2021.
Investors Can Now Trade On and Profit From California Water — How Might That Work Out?
It’s not just Californians paying attention to the state’s water supply anymore. It’s Wall Street.
In a sign of the growing value of water in a warming world, investors began trading futures of the coveted commodity, tied to California water prices, for the first time last week.
The novel marketplace allows speculators to make money betting on future prices of California water while allowing farmers, businesses and municipal suppliers to hedge against price swings and stabilize their costs.
Groundwater Beneath Your Feet Is Rising With the Sea. It Could Bring Long-Buried Toxins With It
Rising seas can evoke images of waves crashing into beachfront property or a torrent of water rolling through downtown streets. But there’s a lesser-known hazard of climate change for those who live along shorelines the world over: freshwater in the ground beneath them creeping slowly upward. For many Bay Area residents who live near the water’s edge, little-publicized research indicates the problem could start to manifest in 10-15 years, particularly in low-lying communities like those in Oakland, Alameda and Marin City.
San Diego Starts Monitoring Wastewater For Virus
San Diego is participating in a statewide program to monitor its untreated wastewater for the virus that causes COVID-19, it was announced Tuesday.
City staff have been monitoring for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2, in untreated wastewater at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant this month.
Proposed Agreement Could Boost Funds to Fix Friant-Kern Canal
In what was hailed as a “landmark agreement,” farmers in an area of southern Tulare County blamed for sinking the Friant-Kern Canal from excessive groundwater pumping will chip in a hefty amount to help pay for a fix.
How hefty could be decided by their payment choice.
A longer term payment option would be $200 million.
FRS II: Mission Trails Water Project Takes Shape
When looking from the right vantage point towards Mission Trails Regional Park, a brown hill can be seen. This is the San Diego County Water Authority’s Mission Trails Flow Regulatory Structure II Project, or FRS II, under construction. Once complete, the dirt hill will be leveled to its previous contours and revegetated with native plants – many seeded from plants within the park itself.
An underground reservoir is being constructed within the park to improve the Water Authority’s untreated water system in the northwest area of the park. The upgrade will increase reliable water delivery to treatment plants that serve the central and south sections of San Diego County.
From a vantage point on a trail in Mission Trails Regional Park, construction equipment can be seen working on the underground water tank that will help balance regional water flows. Photo: Jim Madaffer
FRS II will help balance regional water flows
Work efforts on the new FRS II are beginning to take shape with many of the wall sections installed.
The FRS II will be an underground concrete water tank that will store slightly less than five million gallons of water and be used to balance flows in the aqueduct system. FRS II will be the second underground water tank in the park – both work to efficiently move water through the region. Construction is also underway on a new flow control facility, which is part of the project.
Crews captured an aerial view of part of the project site using a drone, which helps to visualize project areas that are not easily accessible. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Contruction closure information
Some trails in the northwest area of the park are closed during FRS II construction hours (Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.), with portions closed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The Water Authority created an interactive map showing the location of the closed trails. Visit www.sdcwa.org/mission-trails-FRS to view the map and learn more information about the project. For questions about the project call a toll-free project information line at (877) 682-9283, ext. 7004, or email
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
