The two dozen major fires burning across Northern California were sparked by more than 12,000 lightning strikes, a freak weather occurrence that turned what had been a relatively mild fire season into a devastating catastrophe
With the North Bay’s LNU Complex Fire topping 124,000 acres Wednesday and new state evacuation orders emerging every few hours, local and state officials urged Bay Area residents to take a variety of precautions. The city of Healdsburg said Wednesday evening that all of its roughly 12,000 residents should be prepared to evacuate their homes “soon.”
When Gov. Gavin Newsom downsized the Delta tunnels water project last year, the idea was to save money and try to appease at least some of the project’s critics. Yet the project remains controversial — and still figures to be costly. After months of relative quiet, Newsom’s administration released a preliminary cost estimate for the scaled-back project Friday: $15.9 billion for a single tunnel running beneath the estuary just south of Sacramento.
Everybody had known for days that a heat wave was about to wallop California. Yet a dashboard maintained by the organization that manages the state’s electric grid showed that scores of power plants were down or producing below peak strength, a stunning failure of planning, poor record keeping and sheer bad luck.
A new Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, has made headway in Congress, most recently with House passage of a bill authorizing about $9 billion for Army Corps of Engineers flood and storm protection, environmental restoration and other projects.
The Vallecitos Water District is known for its sustainable practices in water and wastewater treatment processes, without any compromise in water quality. The district is now using a new ultrasound technology to address water quality at the Stanley A. Mahr Reservoir with a reduced need for chemical treatment. Mahr Reservoir was completed in 1981. Originally called La Costa Storage No. 1 Dam and Reservoir, it was renamed after the district’s original founder 35-year board member Stanley A. Mahr.
Hurricane Genevieve fizzled after hammering Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, but its remnant moisture and spin may boost thunderstorms in the Desert Southwest and fire-ravaged California through Monday.
Genevieve rapidly intensified to a Category 4 hurricane Tuesday, then grazed Mexico’s southern Baja California Peninsula as a weaker hurricane with flooding rain, high winds and high surf.
After that, as most hurricanes in this part of the eastern Pacific do when they move farther northwest over cooler water and more stable air, Genevieve fizzled rapidly into a remnant low west of the Baja Peninsula.
When Gov. Gavin Newsom downsized the Delta tunnels water project last year, the idea was to save money and try to appease at least some of the project’s critics.
Yet the project remains controversial — and still figures to be costly.
After months of relative quiet, Newsom’s administration released a preliminary cost estimate for the scaled-back project Friday: $15.9 billion for a single tunnel running beneath the estuary just south of Sacramento.
The Vallecitos Water District is known for its sustainable practices in water and wastewater treatment processes, without any compromise in water quality. The district is now using a new ultrasound technology to address water quality at the Stanley A. Mahr Reservoir with a reduced need for chemical treatment.
The Mahr Reservoir stores up to 54 million gallons of reclaimed water to be used later for irrigation. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Mahr Reservoir was completed in 1981. Originally called La Costa Storage No. 1 Dam and Reservoir, it was renamed after the district’s original founder 35-year board member Stanley A. Mahr. It stores up to 54 million gallons of reclaimed water to be used later for irrigation. The district has contracts with the City of Carlsbad and Olivenhain Municipal Water District to provide water as needed, as much as five million gallons of recycled water daily.
Because the reservoir’s location receives intense sunlight with little rain, algal blooms can occur in the nutrient-rich recycled water. The most common method of treating algal blooms is with harmful chemicals. They are costly and labor-intensive.
The district instead uses technology developed by the international company LG Sonic, which provides a complete overview of the water quality allowing swift identification and treatment of algal blooms.
NOTE: Portions of this video were filmed in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and any mandatory face covering requirements.
Every 10 minutes, an MPC Buoy in the Mahr Reservoir measures and monitors green and blue-green algae population, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and water temperature. The data is collected in real time and uploaded to a web-based software. The software uses the data to predict algal blooms three to ten days in advance.
The LG Sonic buoy can create a sound barrier in the top water layer, which affects the buoyancy of the algae, preventing it from rising up where it can absorb sunlight for photosynthesis to grow. Without sunlight and nutrients, algae cells sink to deeper water where they degrade due to natural bacteria and do not release toxins into the water.
With overall algae levels reduced by this technology, the need for chemical treatment is also reduced, allowing the Vallecitos Water District to provide high quality reclaimed water to its customers.
LG Sonic’s specific low power ultrasonic transmitters emit signals which are not harmful to people, fish, plants or other wildlife.
Meadowlark Water Reclamation Facility Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator II Ivan Murguia monitors water quality. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
After the initial installation, an unusual incident occurred. Electrical cords providing power to the reservoir’s water pumps became wrapped around the inlet/outlet pipes located underwater. Mahr’s algae meter needs water flow from the reservoir to be able to read the algae level.
Maintenance staff couldn’t untangle the power cords from above the water. Specialty divers were called in to address the problem. Vallecitos Pump and Motor Technician Dale Austin also had divers inspect pneumatic (air) and hydraulic (oil) lines to the motors (actuators) that open and close the inlet and outlet valves for leaks. Divers successfully untangled the electrical cords and they were secured to prevent future problems. Divers found no leaks on the lines.
Because San Diego County gets so little natural rainfall, most residents must artificially irrigate their landscaping. Rainfall becomes a welcome sight when it occurs. The County of San Diego’s Watershed Protection Program in the Department of Public Works has created a webpage with useful information and photos to educate the public and assist in preventing watershed damage.
