A bone-chilling cold snap brought freezing temperatures across the San Diego area Wednesday, sending the mercury dipping as low as the 20s and high teens in part of the county.
A bone-chilling cold snap brought freezing temperatures across the San Diego area Wednesday, sending the mercury dipping as low as the 20s and high teens in part of the county.
Talented fourth-graders from Fallbrook area elementary schools picked up their pens, crayons, and watercolors to create the best and brightest water-conservation posters for the Fallbrook Public Utility District 2020 “Be Water Smart” calendar. Out of the 250 posters submitted, the work of 14 artists was selected.
Twelve of the winning images appear inside the calendar, one for each of the 12 months of the year. One image was chosen for the cover, and another was added for January 2021. The free calendars can be picked up at the Fallbrook Public Utility District office.
The students’ colorful images vividly depict the contest’s theme. Fallbrook judges scrutinized the entries to find the most eye-catching images illustrating the need for saving water.
The winning artists were recognized at the December 9 Fallbrook PUD board of directors meeting. Each student received a Walmart gift card, school supplies, and a signed certificate of commendation. The artists were also presented with a matted, framed version of their artwork. The first, second, and third place winners also received t-shirts customized with their own artwork.
First place: Anahy Ambriz, Maie Ellis Elementary
The artwork by first-place winner Anahy Ambriz of Maie Ellis Elementary will appear on the cover of the 2020 Fallbrook PUD Calendar. Photo: Fallbrook Public Utility District
Second place: Samantha Mejia, Maie Ellis Elementary
Samantha Mejia of Maie Ellis Elementary is the second-place winner. Photo: Fallbrook Public Utility District
Third place: Brisa Bailon, Maie Ellis Elementary
Brisa Bailon of Maie Ellis Elementary won third place. Photo: Fallbrook Public Utility District
Leo Quick, Fallbrook STEM Academy
Work by Leo Quick of the Fallbrook STEM Academy. Photo: FPUD
Kelly Jaimes, William H. Frazier Elementary
Kelly Jaimes, William H. Frazier Elementary. Photo: Fallbrook Public Utility District
Oscar Tovar, Live Oak Elementary
Oscar Tovar, Live Oak Elementary, Photo: Fallbrook Public Utility District
(L to R): Isabella Magana, Alexandro Rojas, Gizalle Amezquita, and Ares Miramontes of Maie Ellis Elementary
(L to R): Kayla Arango, Nya Lin Ramirez, Abigail Perez, and Jennifer Wiscott of La Paloma Elementary
The annual contest is open only to Fallbrook Public Utility District fourth-graders because they have learned about water conservation and the water cycle by the fourth grade. Students from five elementary schools submitted entries.
The contest objective is to find the most eye-catching images illustrating the need for saving water. All 14 pieces of artwork will be displayed on the Fallbrook PUD website. They will also be displayed in the Fallbrook board room for a year and will be used in the district’s social media posts on Facebook and Twitter.
See the 2019 Fallbrook PUD Conservation Calendar artwork.
Several water agencies in the San Diego region sponsor calendar contests for students throughout the year with various conservation themes including ‘Water is Life‘ and ‘Be Water Smart.’ The contests offer opportunities for students to showcase their artistic skills while also thinking and learning about water conservation.
The Newsom administration Tuesday floated a proposal to avert a protracted legal battle over new state standards that would make some of California’s biggest water users cut their river diversions to help struggling fish populations.
State officials see a settlement as the linchpin of administration water policies that have been bogged down in the perennial conflicts over the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a source of water for much of California and home to some of its most threatened native fish.
As expected, San Diego County LAFCO’s Municipal Service Review of the Valley Center Municipal Water District, Valley Center Fire Protection District and VC Parks & Rec District (which is referred to in the report as VC Community Services District)—now available for public review—includes a recommendation that the County take over the parks district, and that the parks be put under a standalone County Service Area that would be run by the County, although with an advisory committee that would probably start with the current board of directors.
Imperial, California – The Imperial Irrigation District appeared before Imperial County Superior Court Judge Brooks Anderholt, Tuesday, to defend itself in a contempt-of-court lawsuit filed by farmer Mike Abatti. This is an extension of the litigation brought against the district by Abatti in 2013 that challenged IID’s Equitable Distribution Plan, and is currently on appeal before the Fourth District Court of Appeal.
In his latest legal challenge to IID’s water rights and operations, Abatti asked the trial court to find IID in contempt for violating the judge’s August 2017 order prohibiting the district from entering into any new industrial water supply contracts until it implements an EDP based on water history.
InfraTerra Inc. has been awarded a contract to provide seismic vulnerability assessments and repair time estimates for San Diego County Water Authority pipelines.
A unanimous SDCWA board vote, Jan. 23, authorized the award of a $724,939 contract for InfraTerra to perform the work. The study is expected to be complete during summer 2021.
The CWA has five large-diameter pipelines with prestressed concrete cylinder, reinforced concrete and welded steel pipe. The most recent major seismic vulnerability study on the CWA pipelines was performed in 1993 and provided an estimate of the number of pipe breaks and repair time needed to restore water service in the event of a significant earthquake.
A “perfect drought” happens when major sources of water all experience drought at the same time. It was behind California’s dry spell early last decade, and a new study shows they go back centuries.
Connie Woodhouse and David Meko, professors at the University of Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree Ring Research, found the most recent span of 100 years, when five perfect droughts hit California, was not unusual compared to past centuries.
(KFSN Fresno, Calif.) – Canals that move water through the state are showing signs of aging.
The Delta-Mendota Canal was built in 1951, while the California Aqueduct was built in 1963.
You can find cracks in the canal system due to subsidence. The land is sinking in some areas due to years of groundwater over-pumping.
“I think we’ve fallen woefully behind when it comes to maintaining infrastructure as we’ve seen in growing populations,” says Cannon Michael.
Democratic congressmen from Fresno introduced two pieces of legislation that aim to repair aging canals and water infrastructure in California that’s been damaged by sinking ground levels – called subsidence, caused by groundwater pumping.
“The canals on the eastside and the westside are experiencing dramatic subsidence and therefore their capacity to move water has greatly diminished,” said Rep. Jim Costa during a news conference Monday before the backdrop of the central San Joaquin Valley’s Friant Dam, just outside Fresno.
The community-scale market segment has been plagued by ongoing policy neglect, and otherwise poor policy choices. Will policymakers heed the track record of demonstrated failure and finally create new programs that address previous problems?
California, long a progressive leader on renewable energy and climate change mitigation, has neglected a key market segment for renewable energy: the community-scale or wholesale distributed generation market.
The wholesale distributed generation segment consists of projects below 20 megawatts that connect to the distribution grid and export power to the grid for sale.
