After the signatories to the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement officially recommitted to removing four dams on the Klamath River last month, local politicians brought up concerns with Oregon, California and PacifiCorp committing more funds to the project.
The Bay Area awoke to the pitter-patter sound and pleasant smell of rain Sunday as the first significant storm system of the season moved through the area, bringing much-needed moisture to a largely dry region. Meteorologist Brooke Bingaman with the National Weather Service said that the rain system that passed through the Bay Area over the weekend will give way to dry conditions for Monday and Tuesday before an even wetter system could come through Wednesday into Thursday.
Salk Research Institute Greenhouse manager McKenna Hopwood opened a door to what she jokingly calls “the meat locker.”
“Alright, here we are,” Hopwood said as she pointed to the ceiling.
Bags of drying plants, both stalks and roots, hang from the ceiling, prompting the comparison to a slaughterhouse meat cooler. But, of course, the hanging carcasses here are plants.
The Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is celebrating its fifth year of operation this month. More than 65 billion gallons of water from the plant have provided a sustainable and reliable supply to businesses and residents of San Diego County since December 2015.
The Carlsbad Desalination Plant produces more than 50 million gallons of high-quality, locally controlled, water every day. It’s a foundational water supply for the San Diego region that minimizes the region’s vulnerability to drought or other water supply emergencies.
“The desalination plant is a key piece of the region’s multi-decade strategy to diversify our water supply portfolio,” said Sandra L. Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority. “As we celebrate five years of operation, the plant continues to provide a drought-proof supply that reduces our dependence on imported water sources vulnerable to droughts, natural disasters, and regulatory restrictions.”
A 30-year Water Purchase Agreement between Poseidon Water and the Water Authority allows for the production of up to 56,000 acre-feet of water per year, enough to meet the needs of approximately 400,000 people. The facility is the largest, most technologically advanced and energy-efficient desalination plant in the nation.
“The Carlsbad Desalination Plant was once merely an ambitious vision. Fast forward to today, and we are celebrating the plant’s fifth anniversary of operations, during which we have successfully produced enough water to meet the needs of San Diego County residents,” said Carlos Riva, CEO of Poseidon Water. “This is an incredible accomplishment and an example of how communities throughout California can invest in the state’s future water security.”
The Carlsbad plant uses reverse osmosis to produce approximately 10% of the region’s water supply; it is a core supply regardless of weather conditions, and it is blended with water from other sources for regional distribution. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Desalination uses reverse osmosis technology to remove water molecules from seawater. Water from the ocean is forced through tightly-wrapped, semipermeable membranes under very high pressure. The membranes allow the smaller water molecules to pass through, leaving salt and other impurities to be discharged from the facility.
Reverse osmosis is the heart of the Carlsbad plant. During this process, dissolved salt and other minerals are separated from the water, making it fit for consumption. This reverse osmosis building contains more than 2,000 pressure vessels housing more than 16,000 reverse osmosis membranes. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Three new fish-friendly seawater intake pumps, commissioned in July 2020 at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, are among the most environmentally advanced intake pumps in the world. The pumps are part of a broader effort to ensure the long-term health of the marine environment near the Plant, which sits on the shores of Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Installation of the new intake pumps is part of a phased program to replace the existing seawater intake and discharge facilities with state-of-the-art technology to protect marine life. The technology wasn’t available when the plant was operating with source water from the Encina Power Station.
The next steps include adding new intake screens, designed to prevent any sea-life larger than 1 millimeter (thicker than a credit card) from entering the plant. The new intake screens are the final part of upgrades, which when complete in 2023, will make the Carlsbad Desalination Plant the first desalination facility in California to comply with the 2015 California Ocean Plan Amendment, among the most advanced sea-life protection measures.
Desalination plant project partners Poseidon Water and the San Diego County Water Authority celebrated delivering 40 billion gallons of drought-resilient drinking water to San Diego County during three years of commercial operations at the plant.
Officials toasted a significant milestone in regional water supply reliability on December 13, 2018 at the Carlsbad Desalination Plant – the delivery of 40 billion gallons of drinking water during the plant’s first three years of commercial operations. (L to R: Water Authority Deputy General Manager Sandra Kerl, Poseidon Water CEO Carlos Riva, and former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer share a toast at the third anniversary event. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority)
Operations are under way at the nation’s largest and most technologically advanced seawater desalination plant, which was dedicated today by more than 600 elected officials, community leaders and project partners. After successfully completing construction, the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant has already produced more than 1.5 billion gallons of locally controlled water for San Diego County, helping to minimize the region’s vulnerability to the statewide drought.
The Carlsbad Desalination Project included 1.5 million hours of work in Carlsbad, Vista and San Marcos, supporting an estimated 2,500 jobs and infusing $350 million into the local economy. Project partners included the Water Authority, Poseidon Water, IDE Technologies, Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners and Kiewit-Shea Desalination. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
June 29, 2015: Pipeline Installation Completed
Construction of the 54-inch diameter pipeline began in spring 2013 in San Marcos. Crews worked in Carlsbad, Vista and San Marcos to reduce impacts on local businesses and residents. During the three-year construction process, the project supported an estimated 2,500 jobs and infused at least $350 million into the regional economy. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
The final segment of the desalination project’s pipeline is installed on June 29, 2015. The pipeline stretches 10 miles from the plant through the cities of Carlsbad, Vista and San Marcos to the Water Authority’s Second Aqueduct. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
The Carlsbad Desalination Project includes a seawater desalination plant and a 10-mile, large-diameter pipeline. Construction on the plant began in late 2012 and pipeline construction began in spring 2013. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Construction of the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant started on December 28, 2012. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
The San Diego County Water Authority approves a 30-year agreement for the purchase of up to 56,000 acre-feet of desalinated seawater per year from project developer Poseidon Resources. With the agreement approved, Poseidon and the Water Authority secured financing in the bond market and construction started a month later.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors on Thursday elected Mona Rios as vice chair to serve with Board Chair Gary Croucher and Secretary Jerry Butkiewicz. She is the first Latina to serve as a Board officer in the Water Authority’s 76-year history.
Rios joined the Water Authority Board in January 2020, and represents the City of National City, where she serves as the Vice Mayor. A fourth-generation National City resident, Rios has served on the National City Council since 2010. She is a member of the Water Authority Board’s Legislation and Public Outreach Committee and the Water Planning and Environmental Committee.
She served on the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Board of Directors, was Vice Chair of the San Diego MTS Board of Trustees 2017-2019, and is an alternate member of the San Diego Association of Governments board. Rios has served as the representative for National City on numerous regional and statewide governmental agencies.
“I look forward to building partnerships that ensure an affordable and reliable water supply that helps San Diego County thrive,” said Rios. “From Fallbrook to the South Bay, we are stronger together.”
“I look forward to building partnerships that ensure an affordable and reliable water supply that helps San Diego County thrive,” said Mona Rios, after she was elected Vice Chair of the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors December 10.
After more than six years of service on the Water Authority Board, outgoing Vice Chair Christy Guerin is retiring from the Board at the end of 2020. That created an opening for a new Board officer.
“We applaud Christy for all of her efforts to support the Water Authority and our region through her distinguished career,” said Chair Croucher. “And we welcome Mona Rios to help set a course for the future – a course that we will navigate together with teamwork and a commitment to the San Diego County community.”
The Water Authority’s 36-member board, representing 24 retail member water agencies, holds its regular meetings on the fourth Thursday of each month January through October. The November and December meetings are combined. Board meetings have been conducted online since April 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and are live-streamed on the Water Authority’s website. Board documents and webcasts of Board meetings are at www.sdcwa.org/board-directors.
December 11, 2020 – The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors on Thursday elected Mona Rios as vice chair to serve with Board Chair Gary Croucher and Secretary Jerry Butkiewicz. She is the first Latina to serve as a Board officer in the Water Authority’s 76-year history.
Rios joined the Water Authority Board in January 2020, and represents the City of National City, where she serves as the Vice Mayor. A fourth-generation National City resident, Rios has served on the National City Council since 2010. She is a member of the Water Authority Board’s Legislation and Public Outreach Committee and the Water Planning and Environmental Committee.
The San Diego County Water Authority awarded CDM Smith the planning study contract for the repair or replacement of the SDCWA pipelines in Moosa Canyon.
The CWA’s Nov. 19 board vote authorized a $600,000 contract with CDM Smith for the engineering services. The planning study is expected to take approximately ten months to complete.
At a December 9, 2020 meeting, the Helix Water District Board of Directors elected Director Joel Scalzitti to serve as board president in 2021 and Director Kathleen Coates Hedberg to serve as the board’s vice president.
Scalzitti was elected to the board in 2012 and represents Helix’s division 5, which extends from El Cajon to Lake Jennings.
Hedberg has served on Helix’s board since 2006 and represents the district’s division 4 customers in La Mesa, Casa de Oro and El Cajon.
Encinitas, Calif. — At its December 9 meeting, Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors were presented the 2019 – 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, which received a clean bill of health from the independent audit of OMWD financial statements for the previous fiscal year.
At the December 9 Sweetwater Authority Governing Board meeting, Josie Calderon-Scott, Paulina Martinez-Perez and Jose Preciado were sworn into their four-year terms as Directors. At the same meeting, the Authority’s Governing Board appointed Director Hector Martinez as Board Chair and Director Alejandra Sotelo-Solis as Vice Chair for 2021 term.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
Sweetwater Authority Logo 2019