In honor of Public Service Recognition Week, the Vallecitos Water District is announcing an event to honor former Board Member Margaret E. “Betty” Ferguson and the 1946 Jeep (Willys) CJ-2A she enjoyed driving. The event will take place on Wednesday June 21, 2023, at 4 p.m.at the VWD Office located at 201 Vallecitos de Oro in San Marcos and will also include an unveiling of the Jeep.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration have touted plans to build a tunnel to transport water beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, saying the project would modernize California’s water infrastructure and help the state adapt to climate change.
But an advocacy group is urging the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to abandon the $16-billion project, saying it doesn’t make financial sense for the state’s largest urban water agency.
Clint Baze was seated on the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors on January 25, 2023, representing the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District. Clint Baze is the General Manager of the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District.
While California’s water outlook saw marked improvement in the short term, climatologists say years of worsening conditions across the West will take far more than this winter’s storms to recuperate.
Veva Deheza, executive director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Integrated Drought Information System, said in a briefing Tuesday that about 25% of the West remains in drought — compared to 74% at the start of the water year this past October.
Nearly half of the U.S. West has emerged from drought this spring, but the welcome wet conditions haven’t entirely replenished the region, scientists said Tuesday.
Hydrologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said deep snowpack across much of the West will bring short-term relief, but the equally deep “bathtub rings” at Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs are a reminder of the long road to bringing supply and demand in balance.
Atmospheric rivers are essential for the transportation of precipitation occurring in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. The rapidly changing climate is causing shifts in these long, flowing regions of the atmosphere, resulting in an increasing number of extreme weather events that bring about destruction across the world.
A proposal by a Ramona Community Planning Group member to add an advisory board member to represent the county’s unincorporated communities on the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) could soon move forward in the approval process.
On Tuesday, May 23, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will consider a resolution to add another adviser to the Board of Directors for SANDAG, a regional planning agency that considers transportation, housing and fire evacuation safety issues in addition to making funding decisions for related projects.
As temperatures reached the 80s and people flocked to the shore for beach cleanups on Earth Day last month, an order to stay out of the water dampened what could have been a very busy beach weekend after months of wet weather in Long Beach.
The beach closure was prompted by the second sewage spill of 2023 that resulted in 250,000 gallons of raw sewage entering the Los Angeles River near Downey and making its way toward Long Beach where the river’s mouth dumps its contents into the ocean.
A joint venture of AECOM and Brown and Caldwell (AECOM-BC Team) has been chosen to provide program and project management support and engineering design services for the Pure Water Southern California program, one of the largest water reuse programs in the world.
(Editor’s Note: This feature highlights new members of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 36-member Board of Directors. Each of the Water Authority’s 24 member agencies appoints at least one representative to the Board, which sets policy for the Water Authority.)
Who: Clint Baze was seated on the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors on January 25, 2023, representing the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District. Baze serves on the Administrative and Finance and Water Planning and Environmental committees for the Water Authority.
Background/Education: Clint Baze is the General Manager of the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District. He received a Bachelor of Science degree, Organization Leadership, from Asusa Pacific University, and an Associate in Arts, Water Technology, from Palomar College. Baze also holds a Grade 5 Water Distribution Operator Certification, State Water Resources Control Board, a Grade 2 Water Treatment Operator Certification, State Water Resources Control Board and is a Certified Pipeline Welder by the American Welding Society.
Water Industry Affiliations: American Water Works Association, California Water Environment Association, American Public Works Association, North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition, Water Education Foundation, International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, California Association of Sanitation Districts, Association of California Water Agencies/Joint Powers Insurance Authority, California Special Districts Association.
A: I was born in Riverside County and as a Southern California native, I was raised in the sunshine of both Riverside and San Diego counties. I enjoyed a childhood filled with expansive wide-open spaces, horses, and old pickup trucks. While attending high school, I signed up for the Regional Occupational Program and became a certified pipeline welder. After graduation, my first “real” job was a position as a production welder for a major water meter manufacturing company. A short time later in 1984, when I was 20 years young, I was recovering from an injury sustained during competition at one of the many regional rodeos in which I participated. A friend stopped by to check in on me and happened to share a job announcement for a welder position with the Rainbow Municipal Water District. It was then it dawned on me that a career in water would certainly be a lot less painful than a career as a rodeo professional, and equally as intriguing.
A: My greatest priority as a San Diego County Water Authority Board (SDCWA) member is, first and foremost, to fully participate in the decision-making responsibilities of a Board member. As a general manager and board member, it is up to me to ensure that Rincon Water customers are well represented and that the policies we set at the SDCWA are made in the best interests of our community. I am proud to serve an organization that is known as a leader with California’s complex issues relative to water supplies, treatment, diversity, conservation, and water recycling.
A: 1. If you are to break down the cost of water and compare it to other human wants and needs you will find that it is still comparatively cheap, however, if you rely on it for commercial, industrial, or farming, the price is almost unbearable. Safe, reliable, and affordable water may no longer be realistic. 2. The cost of energy in the region will most likely cause people to relocate. The routine price hikes of natural gas and electricity in San Diego affects all other services and raises the bar beyond reach. 3. Affordable housing is my third concern. The high cost of housing has created a situation where thousands of San Diego County workers commute here from Riverside and Orange counties. This creates havoc on the freeway resulting in excessive emissions, impedes emergency responses, and causes an increase in traffic accidents.
A: If you guessed open spaces, horses, and old pickup trucks, you’d be right, but I’ve added chickens, turkeys, dogs, cats, and rabbits to that mix. But the greatest joys in my life are my lovely wife and creative daughter. And thanks to my daughter and her talents as a special effects makeup artist, you can catch us at Comic-Con or other similar conventions deeply engrossed in cosplay.
The Water Authority’s Board of Directors typically meets on the fourth Thursday of each month. The Board invites the public to attend its monthly meetings and to comment on agenda items or other matters before the Board. For meeting times, agendas and documents, go to www.sdcwa.org/board-directors
