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California Water Pipeline Hits Legal Setback

A controversial Southern California water pipeline project has hit another snag, with a federal judge’s ruling that allows the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw key approvals granted during the Trump administration.

Judge Rules City of San Diego Overcharged Water Customers $79 Million Since 2014

Months after a judge ruled the City of San Diego is overcharging some water customers, the city has yet to pay up, or make changes to its rates.

Attorneys say the delay is costing taxpayers millions in penalty fees.

Sweetwater Authority Adds Clean Energy Vehicles to its Fleet

Chula Vista, Calif. – Yesterday, the Sweetwater Authority Governing Board gathered to see and celebrate the agency’s new electric vehicles (EVs). The purchase of these clean energy vehicles demonstrates the Authority’s commitment to sustainability.

Olivenhain Municipal Water District Logo landscape design workshops

Olivenhain Municipal Water District Achieves Highest Honor for Financial Reporting

Encinitas, Calif. — Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors accepted at its September 14 meeting the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.

The award recognizes OMWD’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2020 and June 30, 2021. Providing an overview of OMWD’s fiscal management, the report contains details about budgetary controls, debt administration, and investment policies.

Helix Water District-WIFIA loan-EPA-Water reuse

Helix Water District Gets $18 Million Loan for Water Reuse Projects

The Helix Water District has received an $18 million loan from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to support the Drinking Water Reliability Project. Helix will use the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or WIFIA loan, to increase the region’s drinking water resiliency by expanding water reuse opportunities and reducing the reliance on imported water.

The WIFIA loan will help fund infrastructure improvements for the East County Advanced Water Purification Program, pump station upgrades and cast-iron pipeline replacement throughout the district.

Developing new drought-proof water supply

“In California, we are purifying recycled water and ocean water to replace the water that nature used to provide,” said Helix Water District Board President Kathleen Coates Hedberg. “The only way we can afford to keep rates as low as we can and develop these new projects is through collaboration – multiple agencies working together and securing capital from multiple funding sources. We are partnering with neighboring agencies to develop a new, drought-proof water supply and we are so pleased that the EPA selected our project for funding.”

$18 million loan helps recycled water efforts

Specifically, Helix Water District will modernize existing pump stations, conveyance infrastructure, and distribution pipelines as well as install an aeration system in Lake Jennings to meet state surface water requirements.

By completing the project, Helix Water District will replace 30% of its water needs that are currently met by regional sources with an alternative source of purified water conveyed from the East County AWP, which received a separate WIFIA loan. This project also supports California’s Title 22 “Pure Water” objective to increase use of recycled water by at least 2 million-acre-feet per year by 2030.

Scheduled to be complete in 2026, the East County AWP will generate up to 11.5 million gallons per day of purified water— meeting approximately 30% of current drinking water demands for East San Diego County residents and businesses.

As a result of the WIFIA program’s flexibility and competitive rates, Helix Water District will save approximately $3.2 million by financing with a WIFIA loan. Construction and operation are estimated to create nearly 400 jobs.

“Future of water in the West”

“Helix Water District’s project represents the future of water in the West,” said EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water Bruno Pigott. “EPA is proud to help finance these infrastructure upgrades that will increase water reuse and help secure reliable safe drinking water for generations to come.”

Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan and guarantee program administered by EPA. The WIFIA program’s aim is to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects.

(Editor’s note: The Helix Water District and the Padre Dam Municipal Water District are two of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region. Water agencies in north San Diego County also received federal funds recently to support water recycling projects.)

San Diego Makes Huge Investment in Stormwater Infrastructure with EPA Loan

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria on Tuesday signed off on a loan with the Environmental Protection Agency to fix up the city’s aging storm drain system.

The loan will allow for up to $733 million to be invested in stormwater infrastructure projects over the next five years. It’s one of the biggest infrastructure investments in recent years. The mayor’s signature kicked off the first installment of $225 million.

The loan will fund more than 80 projects.

“Our storm drain system is largely underground and out of sight, but the implications of this aging infrastructure failing are massive – from serious flooding in our neighborhoods to pollution of our bays and the ocean,” Gloria said in a statement. “While replacing storm drains and upgrading pump stations doesn’t capture the public’s attention like fixing potholes, these major investments in critical infrastructure are incredibly important to our neighborhoods and quality of life.”

Vallecitos Water District Landscape Makeover Winners Lead By Example

Three San Marcos families invested their time and effort into transforming their front yards into beautiful water-efficient designs. Their hard work has paid off in lower water bills and being named the winners of the 2022 Vallecitos Water District Landscape Makeover Contest.

 

Olivenhain Municipal Water District Receives Recycled Water Award

The Olivenhain Municipal Water District received the WateReuse Association of California’s 2022 award for Recycled Water Community Outreach. The award was presented at WateReuse’s annual conference in San Francisco.

A Rare Third Year of La Niña is on Deck for California, Forecasters Say

Californians should brace for another year of La Niña as the stubborn climate pattern in the tropical Pacific is expected to persist for a third consecutive year, forecasters say.

The latest outlook, published Thursday by the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, has increased the chances of La Niña sticking around through November to 91%, a near certainty. The pattern may also linger into winter, with an 80% chance of La Niña from November to January and a 54% chance from January to March.

A Warmer, Drier West: A Detailed History and Possible Future of Water Use in the West

On October 13, 1893, Major John Wesley Powell, celebrated explorer, geologist and Civil War veteran, addressed delegates of the Second Irrigation Congress in Los Angeles, declaring to the capitalists, politicians and boosters attending (and whose main agenda was to develop the arid West), “What matters it whether I am popular or unpopular? I tell you, gentlemen, you are piling up a heritage of conflict and litigation over water rights, for there is not sufficient water to supply these lands.” Powell’s blunt prophetic statement did not win support. The delegates booed him off the stage.