Chula Vista, Calif. – The Sweetwater Authority (Authority) Governing Board approved $2.4M in pipeline projects in Bonita and National City to ensure continued reliable water service for customers. The Board voted to approve these projects at its April 27 Governing Board meeting. SRK Engineering was awarded the contract for construction that will begin in June 2022.
April 27, 2022 – Padre Dam Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors unanimously approved a zero percent revenue increase for the District’s water and wastewater operations over the next five years – for Fiscal Years 2023-2027. The decision to adopt this approach to not increase revenue for the next five year period was based on the Board’s desire to minimize customer rate impacts as well as the District’s strong financial position of the water and wastewater operation funds.
One day after approving a restriction that will limit outdoor watering to once a week for millions of Southern California residents and businesses, leaders of the region’s largest water wholesaler said Wednesday they needed to take unprecedented steps to respond to the record drought.
“The reality is, this drought has left us without the water supply we need to meet normal demands in these areas,” Adel Hagekhalil, general manager of the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said in a statement.
Justin Seidenfeld’s vineyard ran out of water last year. The area of Petaluma where his Parliament Hills Vineyard is located received just 4.5 inches of rain throughout 2021, not nearly enough sustenance for his vines of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
“We ended up trucking water in at a very, very high cost,” Seidenfeld said, “and even with that trucking, we had barely enough to get by.”
The historic drought that’s choked off rivers and reservoirs from the Rocky Mountains to the California coast is threatening to strain power grids this summer, raising the specter of blackouts and forcing the region to rely on more fossil fuels.
Many reservoirs that should be brimming with spring snowmelt show bathtub rings of dry dirt instead, including the largest one in the U.S., Lake Mead, which fell this week to a record low. Hydropower dams feeding off those reservoirs won’t be able to pump out as much electricity as they should, if they keep operating at all.
It’s Springtime and if you’re thinking of sprucing up your garden you might want to do something drought tolerant.
Which is exactly what they have at The Water Conservation Garden here in Rancho San Diego, but they say you’re not just limited to succulents and cactus.
“Not only can you have color in your garden you can have color year-round,” said Pam Meisner is the Director of Operation and Programs at The Garden.
As part of continuing efforts to maintain and invest in City of San Diego infrastructure, repair work starts within the next two weeks on Hodges Dam, at the Hodges Reservoir north of Rancho Bernardo.
“It’s been over a century since Hodges Dam was constructed, and we are making significant investments to maintain this vital asset,” said Alia Khouri, Deputy Chief Operating Officer. “Projects like this one are crucial for the City’s aging infrastructure system in order to maintain the safe and efficient delivery of City services.”
Somewhere between Bullfrog, Utah, and the Hole in the Rock trailhead, I’m following the distant rumbling of a waterfall, echoing between 500-foot walls of Navajo Sandstone. Not far from here is Cathedral in the Desert — a famed grotto in the heart of Glen Canyon. It gives me chills, knowing that this sound hasn’t been heard since 1968. After rounding one last corner of the canyon, there it is: a 60-foot cascade bellowing into a clear pool. Water in the desert is a magical thing. It’s also a complicated thing.
Three back-to-back dry years have crunched water supplies for many cities and farms across Nevada and throughout the West. The past two decades, according to a report released earlier this year, represent the most extreme drought in the last 1,200 years. As the West continues to warm, officials expect more uncertainty, driven largely by changes in precipitation and aridity.
Los Angeles did something Tuesday it’s never done before: it prohibited about 6 million Angelenos from watering outdoor landscapes except for one day a week.
That’s because climate change-driven drought in California has stretched into its third year, with less rain and snow from the Sierra Nevada mountains feeding the northern rivers of the state. And that means the state’s biggest water lifeline, called the State Water Project, has less water to deliver to the thirsty lands and people who rely on it throughout the rest of California.
Sweetwater Authority Logo 2019