The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Turf Replacement program aims to update homeowners’ landscaping practices by encouraging the removal of existing grass and replacing it with organic, drought-tolerant alternatives. With a focus on water conservation and sustainability, the program seeks to combat the effects of water scarcity and promote responsible water usage among residents.
It is essential to note that synthetic turf is not an approved option for conversion under this program. Instead, the emphasis is on promoting organic and eco-friendly landscaping solutions that align with the city’s environmental goals.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2023-07-24 10:17:202023-07-24 11:09:53Metropolitan Water District Launches Turf Replacement Program for Sustainable Landscaping
Water is the lifeblood of civilizations, and the management of this precious resource has always been a challenging task. The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) holds a significant stake in water rights, playing a vital role in water distribution and agriculture. This essay delves into the history, challenges, and strategies employed by IID to manage water rights responsibly and sustainably.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2023-07-24 09:18:122023-07-24 09:21:59The IID’s Water Rights – a Balancing Act of Responsibility and Sustainability
The award-winning Hauck Mesa Storage Reservoir enhances drinking water supply reliability and operational efficiency for the region. Construction was completed June 23 on the San Diego County Water Authority project in North San Diego County.
Work started in March 2021 with the demolition of an out-of-service steel tank.
Project work included construction of an underground isolation vault and flow control facility, in addition to a new 2.1 million-gallon water tank connected to the Valley Center Pipeline.
The project included construction of the water tank, flow control facility, and valve vault; paving of the project site and access road; and installation of new security fencing. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Improved operational flexibility
Operational flexibility is increased at Hauck Mesa by balancing the flow of treated water between the agency’s First and Second Aqueducts and by helping to maintain water deliveries if power supplies are interrupted. The new storage reservoir enhances the Water Authority’s ability to provide reliable and efficient deliveries of treated water to member agencies.
The walls of the new tank are about 60 feet tall, stained a forest green color to blend in with the natural landscape, and made of prestressed, or wire wrapped, concrete.
“The prestressed technology will maintain the tank walls in permanent compression, allowing the tank to accommodate seismic events while remaining watertight,” said Water Authority Construction Manager Emma Ward-McNally.
The project reached a major milestone in April 2022 when crews poured the concrete roof of the new prestressed concrete water tank. The entire system, including the new tank and flow control facility, was put into service in May 2023.
In April 2022, crews worked to pour the concrete roof of the new Hauck Mesa Storage Reservoir in North San Diego County. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
The Hauck Mesa Storage Reservoir project has received two awards: The 2023 Honor Award from the American Public Works Association for Utilities in the $6 – $25 million category and was a joint winner of the 2023 Outstanding Water Project from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Water Authority Construction Manager Emma Ward-McNally (seated left) receives APWA award for the Hauck Mesa Storage Reservoir Project. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority/APWA
Strategic infrastructure improvements by the Water Authority and its member agencies are part of the regional effort to ensure continued delivery of water to support the region’s $268 billion economy and the quality of life for 3.3 million residents. As part of the asset management program, it is critical to actively replace and repair the Water Authority’s assets, which include pipes, valves, facilities, equipment, and other infrastructure.
Collaboration with Valley Center Municipal Water District
During construction, the Water Authority worked closely with the Valley Center community, Valley Center Municipal Water District, and nearby homeowners to minimize short-term construction impacts during the project.
The Water Authority operates and maintains a regional water delivery system capable of delivering 900 million gallons of water per day. Building and operating the large-scale infrastructure required to meet the region’s water needs now and in the future requires careful planning and technical expertise. The Water Authority uses a sophisticated approach to cost-effectively build, operate, maintain and secure its water facilities as an integrated system.
(Editor’s note: The Valley Center Municipal Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego County region.)
Vista, Calif. — The Vista Irrigation District board of directors recognized Diane Krupnak as the district’s 2023 WaterSmart
Landscape Contest winner. The annual contest recognizes outstanding water-wise residential landscapes based on the criteria of overall attractiveness, appropriate plant selection, design, appropriate maintenance, and efficient methods of irrigation.
Vista Homeowner Diane Krupnak redesigned her front yard to save water and won the 2023 Vista Irrigation District WaterSmart Landscape Contest.
The annual contest recognizes outstanding watersmart residential landscapes based on the criteria of overall attractiveness, appropriate plant selection, design, appropriate maintenance, and efficient irrigation methods.
Making the desert bloom. That’s what our local water district has accomplished in the nearly 70 years of its existence.
Although settlers first came to Valley Center in the 1860s, the town’s population stayed at just a few hundred people throughout the first part of the 20th Century. On the eve of the formation of the district, the population was about 900, according to the Valley Center History Museum. But in 1954 the voters of the community voted overwhelmingly to create the Valley Center Municipal Water District (VCMWD). From then on, the town has grown with the water district, which made it possible to grow to the population it is today, around 22,000 (VCMWD’s total service area population is 29,700.)
What made that all possible was the creation of the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) in 1944 and the completion of the 1st San Diego Aqueduct in the later 1940s’s. The Aqueduct’s purpose was to bring water from the Colorado River to San Diego County, from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (the “Met”) to provide something more than the area’s limited groundwater and streams that flowed during rainy seasons like we have had this year, but otherwise not so much.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2023-07-20 09:46:462023-07-20 09:47:49Valley Center Has Grown With its Water District
State officials Wednesday presented an $80 million check to advance Pure Water Southern California, a large-scale, regional water recycling program intended to create a new source of water to benefit 19 million people amid changing climate and weather whiplash.
Assemblywoman Lisa Calderon, D-Whittier, Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, and Carson Mayor Pro Tem Jawane Hilton joined water district officials during Wednesday’s event at the Pure Water demonstration facility.
“The climate crisis has strained our region’s water supply,” Calderon said in a statement. “It’s imperative we continue investing in our projects focused on addressing our water needs.”
Pure Water will take cleaned wastewater that is currently sent to the ocean and purify it to produce high-quality drinking water, officials said.
Project partners Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Los Angeles County Sanitation District received funding from the state’s 2022-23 budget to accelerate the project’s design and construction, with the potential to begin construction as early as 2025 and have water deliveries start in 2032.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2023-07-20 09:45:522023-07-20 12:15:45SoCal Water Recycling Program Gets $80M From State
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Andrea Morahttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngAndrea Mora2023-07-20 09:44:342023-07-20 12:16:42Funding for Water Projects Takes $200 Million Bite
From $800 to $1,000, and even $5,000, some Valley cities are dangling money incentives to residents, in the hope they will cut their water use amid the state’s ongoing crisis.
The programs are a direct result of cities grappling with a future of less water from the Colorado River.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Andrea Morahttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngAndrea Mora2023-07-20 09:43:122023-07-20 12:16:51Arizona Cities Offering Money Incentives to Residents in Bid to Reduce Water Use: Here’s What to Know
Having an eco-friendly yard doesn’t have to mean replacing a lawn with sand and succulents. Ann-Marie Benz, California Native Plant Society’s horticulture program manager, says creating a drought-resilient landscape has a bad reputation. Creating a native, water-wise yard can be rewarding — and done with a personal flair.
