You are now in Home Headline Media Coverage San Diego County category.

East County Advanced Water Purification Program Breaks Ground and Begins Construction

/in , , /by /Smart Water Magazine

The East County Advanced Water Purification Program broke ground, marking an important milestone for the project, East San Diego County, the region and the entire water industry.

Program representatives, elected officials and water industry leaders gathered at the future site of the treatment facility in Santee to celebrate the Program that will create a new, local, sustainable and drought-proof drinking water supply using state-of-the-art technology to purify East San Diego County’s recycled water.

Full Story

New Water Restrictions in Effect for Millions Across Southern California

/in , , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Dana Griffin

This summer, some will be taking shorter showers and lawns will turn yellow as Southern Californians try to conserve water during the drought.

While it mostly affects the Los Angeles area, all Californians are being asked to save water.

Last month — when the state water board approved rules that went into effect on Wednesday — Governor Gavin Newsom said in part, “These conservation measures are increasingly important as we enter the summer months. I’m asking all Californians to step up because every single drop counts.”

Full Story

As New Deadline Looms, Groundwater Managers Rework ‘Incomplete’ Plans to Meet California’s Sustainability Goals

/in , , /by /Western Water / Water Education Foundation by Nick Cahill

Managers of California’s most overdrawn aquifers were given a monumental task under the state’s landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: Craft viable, detailed plans on a 20-year timeline to bring their beleaguered basins into balance.

It was a task that required more than 250 newly formed local groundwater agencies – many of them in the drought-stressed San Joaquin Valley – to set up shop, gather data, hear from the public and collaborate with neighbors on multiple complex plans, often covering just portions of a groundwater basin.

Altogether, they submitted plans for 20 basins for review by the California Department of Water Resources in January 2020. Earlier this year, DWR rendered its verdict: Most of the basin plans were incomplete.

Earlier this year, DWR rendered its verdict: Most of the basin plans were incomplete. Now groundwater agencies responsible for 12 of the 20 basins are racing to meet a late July deadline to submit revised plans that meet SGMA’s requirements or risk the state stepping in to manage their groundwater basins.

Full Story

Surviving Socal’s Unprecedented Water Restrictions: a Simple, No-Nonsense Guide

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

With unprecedented water restrictions now in place across Southern California, many are questioning how life will change and whether residents can actually conserve.

Here are 10 things to consider as the new restrictions — most notably limiting outdoor watering to one or two days a week — set in.

Full Story

Defiance, Acceptance and Cries of ‘Bull—’ as Sweeping L.A. Water Restrictions Begin

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Jaimie Ding and Hayley Smith

Millions of Angelenos awoke Wednesday to a new, more arid future as unprecedented water restrictions went into effect across Southern California.

For some, the sweeping limitations on outdoor watering felt like déjà vu from the last time the state was in a significant drought, when lawns turned brown and short showers became the norm. For others, the rules were a frustrating reminder of how little has changed.

Full Story

Sacramento City Council Approves Water Sale for Up to $5 Million

/in , /by /ABC 10by Carley Gomez

While the state of California is in its third year of drought, the Sacramento City Council has approved the sale of up to $5 million worth of water from the Sacramento and American Rivers.

Carlos Eliason, spokesperson for the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities, said there is about 16,500 acre feet of surface water on our rivers. The city council approved to drop the 10,000 acre feet of input, or about 3.26 billion gallons of water, and divert it to state contractors and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Full Story

Biden EPA to Make It Easier for States to Block Fossil Fuel Projects

/in , /by /Kake.comby Ella Nilsen

The Biden administration unveiled a plan Thursday to undo Trump-era rule changes to a key section of the Clean Water Act, essentially giving states, territories and tribes more say on fossil fuel or industrial projects that could pollute their watersheds.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule centers on Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, a longstanding provision that gives states more authority to certify or deny federal permits that are necessary for certain projects, including oil and gas pipelines.

Full Story
Sweetwater Authority Logo 2019Sweetwater Authority Logo 2019

Elementary School Poster Contest Winners Illustrate The Importance of Water

/in , /by

Chula Vista, Calif. – Last week, twenty local elementary school students were named winners of the Sweetwater Authority (Authority) “Water is Life” Poster Contest. The yearly contest gives K-6 students the chance to demonstrate how water is a precious and essential resource. By creating water-related art, students enhance their understanding of the importance of water.

Over one hundred students from four schools within the Authority’s service area submitted posters for this year’s contest. Of the twenty selected winners, six students will have their artwork submitted to the Metropolitan Water District’s regional contest for the chance to be featured in the agency’s 2023 art calendar.

Download File
(L to R) Left to right: Scholarship winners Grace Koumaras, Jennifer Galan, Emilie Taylor, and Abigayle Paliotti. (Not pictured: Samantha Bailey, Kenneth Morales Reyes, and Mateo Sulejmani). Photo: Vista Irrigation District

Vista Irrigation District Recognizes Scholarship Winners and Student Artists

/in , /by

The Vista Irrigation District awarded college scholarships to seven high school seniors selected as winners of the district’s annual scholarship contest. Three fourth-grade students from the local community were also selected as winners of the district‑sponsored Student Poster Art Contest.

Emilie Taylor received a $2,500 scholarship, Samantha Bailey received a $2,000 scholarship, and Abigayle Paliotti received a $1,500 scholarship. All three scholarship winners are graduating seniors at Rancho Buena Vista High School. Runners-up Mateo Sulejmani, Jennifer Galan, and Kenneth Morales Reyes who also attend Rancho Buena Vista High School, and Grace Koumaras from Mission Vista High School, each received $1,000 as runners-up in the scholarship competition.

The scholarship contest is intended to increase the knowledge and awareness of water-related issues impacting the Vista Irrigation District. High school seniors living or attending school within the district’s service area are eligible. Students had to submit an essay and provide a personal statement related to their background and/or goals. Selection criteria also included community involvement or volunteer service, and letters of recommendation from high school faculty.

Poster contest winners promote water awareness

The annual poster contest is designed to promote understanding of water issues in elementary schools. This year’s theme was “Love Water, Save Water.” The three winning posters were selected from 176 entries based upon their depiction of the theme, artwork, originality, and poster design.

First Place: Sophia Puckett, Empresa Elementary School. Photo: Vista Irrigation District scholarship winners

First Place: Sophia Puckett, Empresa Elementary School. Photo: Vista Irrigation District

Sophia Puckett, a fourth-grade student from Empresa Elementary School, is the 2022 first-place winner in the Vista Irrigation District 2022 Water Awareness Poster Contest. Sophia received a $100 award.

Second Place: Stevie Jones, Casita Center. Photo: Vista Irrigation District

Stevie Jones from Casita Center received a second-place award of $50.

scholarship winners

Third Place: Valeria Martinez, Elementary School. Photo: Vista Irrigation District

Valeria Martinez from Hannalei Elementary School received a third-place award of $25 for her entry.

Sophia Puckett with her award winning artwork. Photo: Vista Irrigation District scholarship winners

Sophia Puckett with her award-winning artwork. Photo: Vista Irrigation District

Sophia’s poster will appear in the 2023 Water Awareness Calendar, available free of charge at the district’s office in November 2022.

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

Fallbrook Public Utility District logo

Big Event Marks FPUD Turning 100 Years Old

/in , /by

Fallbrook, Calif. – Fallbrook Public Utility District has been providing water and sewer service in Fallbrook for nearly 100 years. Now thanks to a unanimous vote by the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, the process is moving forward for the district to be able to provide additional community services under the umbrella of parks and recreation services, streets, and street lighting.

The Fallbrook Public Utility District turns 100 years old on June 5.

The district is celebrating its anniversary with a huge, open-to-the-public event June 4, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., to mark a century of supplying water to more than 35,000 residents in Fallbrook.

Download File