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Gracie Chillag of Heritage Charter School placed second in the 2021 Student Poster Contest. Photo: City of Escondido Water awareness Artwork

Water Awareness Artwork Wins Escondido Student Poster Contest

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Twelve winning student artists from Escondido area elementary schools follow in a long tradition of fourth-graders entering the annual City of Escondido Student Poster Contest. Students were asked to depict the 2021 contest theme “Love Water, Save Water” to illustrate the value of water resources through creative, hand-drawn art.

The winning students and their teachers receive prizes. The top 12 posters are displayed on the City of Escondido website.  The first, second, and third place winners will be featured in the 2022 North County water agencies’ regional calendar.

The winners of the 2021 Student Poster Contest 

First Place: Adeleine Kobriger, Heritage Charter

First Place: Adeleine Kobriger, Heritage Charter

Second Place: Gracie Chillag, Heritage Charter

Second Place: Gracie Chillag, Heritage Charter

Third Place: Camille Gastelum, Grace Christian School

Nine additional students received Honorable Mentions for their work

Honorable Mention: Enzo Chung

Enzo Chung

Honorable Mention: Brooke Gamble

Brooke Gamble

Honorable Mention: Candelaria Juarez

Candelaria Juarez

Honorable Mention: Brendan O'Donnell

Brendan O’Donnell

Honorable Mention: Kathleen O'Neal

Kathleen O’Neal

Honorable Mention: Emma Rhett Water Awareness Artwork

Emma Rhett

Honorable Mention: Geraldiine Ricardo-Valdes

Geraldine Ricardo-Valdes

Honorable Mention: Geraldiine Damaris Saucedo Water Awareness Artwork

Damaris Saucedo

Honorable Mention: Delano Sutic

Delano Sutic

Contest part of comprehensive science education program

The poster contest is a fun activity with a serious goal: teaching children the value of water and the need for water conservation. The City of Escondido supports local public and private schools by providing the Water Science Education Program to elementary and afterschool programs.

The program teaches water science to raise awareness of Earth’s resources through interactive and collaborative activities supplementing each school’s science curriculum. The lessons help meet Next Generation Science Standards. The annual poster contest is part of this annual program.

(Editor’s note: The City of Escondido is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)

Vallecitos Water District Taps Tech for Pipeline Inspection

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Vallecitos Water District is using a specialized camera and sonar to evaluate the condition of a sewer pipeline between San Marcos and Carlsbad.

The Land Outfall West pipeline is a large sewer line that stretches from El Camino Real to the Encina Water Pollution Control Facility in Carlsbad. Originally installed in 1986, an evaluation of the pipeline’s current condition using closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras and sonar will help the District identify and prioritize its ongoing pipeline renewal and maintenance activities.

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Drought: Mandatory Water Restrictions Approved for 2 Million Residents of Santa Clara County

/in , , /by /Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

Santa Clara County on Wednesday became the most populous county in California to impose mandatory water restrictions, saying that the worsening drought poses a significant threat to the local groundwater supplies that provide nearly half the drinking water for 2 million residents.

On a 7-0 vote, the Santa Clara Valley Water District board declared a water shortage emergency and set a target of reducing water use 33% countywide from 2013 levels, a year the state uses as baseline. The district, a government agency based in San Jose which serves as the county’s wholesale water provider, also urged cities and private water companies who buy its water to put in place water wasting rules and other mandates, including limiting lawn watering to no more than three days a week. As in the last drought, the rules are likely to include monthly water allocations for each home beyond which financial penalties would apply.

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Poway Prepares to Overhaul Water System in Wake of 2019 Contamination Crisis

/in , , /by /10 News San Diegoby Jeff Lasky Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Poway is getting close to beginning the long-anticipated overhaul of its water system, following a 2019 crisis when the city’s water supply was contaminated by stormwater.

“It’s the largest capital improvement program the City of Poway has ever undertaken,” Shadi Sami, a city engineer helping oversee the project, told ABC 10News.

Currently, Poway gets its water from one source. Untreated water comes in from the San Diego County Water Authority, gets stored in Lake Poway, then goes to Poway’s water treatment plant and is stored in a clear well, before being distributed to residents and businesses. Following a storm in 2019, a valve that should not have been open allowed contaminated water into that clear well. With no other source of water, residents were under a boil water order for several days.

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Key Reservoir On Colorado River Expected To Match Record Low

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Felicia Fonseca

A key reservoir on the Colorado River is expected to dip to its record low Thursday in the latest showing of the drought’s grip on the region.

The surface elevation of Lake Mead along the Nevada-Arizona border is projected to be at 1071.61 feet (326.63 meters) — a measure that was hit in 2016. It’s the lowest level since Lake Mead was filled in the 1930s.

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Intensifying California Drought Promises ‘Very Concerning’ Fire Season

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Diana Leonard

California is entering its summer fire season with a high level of flammability. The hottest and most fire-prone months of the year are ahead. Conditions in the state are a striking example of escalating fire potential in the drought-stricken West.

How the season unfolds will depend on a number of factors, including where ignitions occur and the duration of summer heat waves.

But the outlook is poor at this time, given deepening drought, abundant dry fuels and hot early-season temperatures.

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Opinion: Water Board Choice is Key to Providing Clean Water For All

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Belinda Faustinos and Barbara Barrigan

California’s drought highlights the importance of an appointment sitting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk – filling the final seat on the State Water Resources Control Board.   This is a critical agency appointment at a critical time.

The drought highlights many inequities in California water policy.

Disadvantaged communities in Stockton face the prospect of a drought summer plagued by harmful algae blooms in Delta rivers.  Those algae outbreaks, which can harm children and kill pets, are caused by excessive nutrients and inadequate freshwater flow.  Think what it means for a parent to be afraid for their child’s health if they swim in a river on a hot summer day.

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NorCal Conservationists Float Emergency Water Plan To Save Salmon

/in , /by /JPRby Sydney Dauphinais

After years of drought, salmon in Northern California are facing extinction. Conservation groups in the region have drafted a water management plan that, if adopted, would send less water to Central Valley farmers and keep more cold water for fish.

Last week, fishery advocates in Northern California submitted their temperature management plan to the State Water Resources Control Board. They want to change water operations in the Shasta, Trinity, Sacramento and Lower Klamath Rivers so the region’s salmon runs have enough cold water to survive.

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Microclimate Matching in Your Landscaping Plan

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Earlier in our Conservation Corner series, we described how to map the different types of microclimates present in your landscaping. Using this information helps homeowners arrange plants in a new sustainable landscape. For the most efficient water use, plants should be grouped together with similar water needs according to their preferred microclimate.

In nature, plants that like lots of water are found along the banks of a stream, or grouped together at the base of a depression. Plants that need fast-draining soils so roots don’t rot might be found on hillsides. Plants that love lots of sunshine won’t grow in the shade of a tree.

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Grouping plants together by water needs by matching microcliimates creates efficient irrigation. Photo: Water Authority

Microclimate Matching in Your Landscaping Plan

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Earlier in our Conservation Corner series, we described how to map the different types of microclimates present in your landscaping. Using this information helps homeowners arrange plants in a new sustainable landscape. For the most efficient water use, plants should be grouped together with similar water needs according to their preferred microclimate.

In nature, plants that like lots of water are found along the banks of a stream, or grouped together at the base of a depression. Plants that need fast-draining soils so roots don’t rot might be found on hillsides. Plants that love lots of sunshine won’t grow in the shade of a tree.

Follow The Microclimate Map

Look to the Microclimate Map for smart guidelines on choosing landscape plants. Consider this example yard with three identified microclimates:

  • A front yard in full sun most of the day.
  • A moist depressed area in full sun. This area will retain moisture more than the rest of the yard, so you could use this area for rain catchment. Raise hillside areas surrounding the depression and allow them to drain freely.
  • A shady area under the canopy of a neighbor’s large tree.

Three Different Plant Neighborhoods

Areas of your landscaping under large shade trees become individual microclimates. Photo: Ken Lund/Creative Commons License

Areas of your landscaping under large shade trees become individual microclimates. Photo: Ken Lund/Creative Commons License

When selecting landscaping plants, the yard in this example will require at least three different groupings of plants.

  • Sun-loving plants that prefer their roots dry and in fast-draining soil
  • Sun-loving plants tolerant of wet feet in winter months, which thrive in heavier clay soils
  • Plants tolerant in dry shaded areas

A final consideration before heading to the local nursery or garden center: how will you irrigate your plants?  Check the Plant Factors for each of the plants to make sure their water needs are all similar in each area. A previous Conservation Corner feature has information about Plant Factors.

Plants Speak Latin

Many plants have similar common names in English. Shopping for plants by their common names can lead to confusion between two very different plants. Instead, the best way to shop for plants is to use the Latin name. This reduces any miscommunication and any surprises in your landscaping. 

This article is part of a year-long series inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.