The water tank visible from Hanson Lane has been re-painted with an “R” for Ramona, Ramona High School and Jim Robinson, who retired after 20 years on the Ramona Municipal Water District’s board of directors.
The ID-5 water tank off Old Julian Highway between downtown Ramona and San Diego Country Estates is now known as the “Robinson Tank.”
Parque Baja California should be the ideal community park. Mature trees provide shade and benches give visitors a comfortable place to sit and feel the ocean breeze.
But running through the middle of the park is a drainage culvert with water flowing year round.
Critics call it a “sweetheart deal” between the Trump administration and the Central Valley’s largest agricultural water district, and they claim it unfairly lines the pockets of major farm owners while imperiling California salmon and other fish species.
Scientists are wondering if global warming and El Niño have an accomplice in fueling this summer’s record-shattering heat.
The European climate agency Copernicus reported that July was one-third of a degree Celsius (six-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit) hotter than the old record. That’s a bump in heat that is so recent and so big, especially in the oceans and even more so in the North Atlantic, that scientists are split on whether something else could be at work.
Scientists agree that by far the biggest cause of the recent extreme warming is climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas that has triggered a long upward trend in temperatures. A natural El Niño, a temporary warming of parts of the Pacific that changes weather worldwide, adds a smaller boost. But some researchers say another factor must be present.
All told, last week’s system-wide storm surge left more than 5,200 Imperial Irrigation District customers without power — some for minutes, some for hours — and caused between $1 million and $1.5 million in damages to two high-voltage transmission lines, according to the most recent IID projections.
The city of Los Angeles has agreed to pay millions of dollars in refunds for six years’ worth of allegedly inflated sewer charges. And if you’re still a customer of the city’s sewer services, here’s the good news: If you qualify, your refund will come to you automatically.
The Biden administration’s environmental justice office is investigating whether California’s water agency has discriminated against Native Americans and other people of color by failing to protect the water quality of San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s investigation was triggered by a complaint filed by tribes and environmental justice organizations that says the the state Water Resources Control Board for over a decade “has failed to uphold its statutory duty” to review and update water quality standards in the Bay-Delta.
Diana Marcum forged a career, and a life, by giving a voice to Californians whom many people didn’t take time to notice. Her favorite subjects were strivers and oddballs, the dispossessed and the people who dared to be delighted in the face of life’s struggles.
The veteran journalist chronicled drought and hunger and deep anxiety from the Central Valley, which she made her home for more than two decades. In even the darkest tales, she usually managed to deliver a ray of light.
Marcum, a former Los Angeles Times reporter who won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing, died Wednesday night, according to her friend Janet Sluis. Marcum had a glioblastoma removed from her brain in early July, but fell into a coma shortly after surgery at Fresno Community Regional Medical Center and never fully recovered. She was 60.
(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: Vicki Quiram was seated on the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors on June 19, 2023, representing the Carlsbad Municipal Water District. Quiram serves on the Water Planning and Environmental and Imported Water committees for the Water Authority.
Background/Education: Vicki Quiram earned a Bachelor of Science Civil Engineering from the University of Texas. She is a Registered Professional Engineer (Texas) Public Works Leadership Fellow, a Envision Sustainability Professional, and holds a Masters Certificate in High Performance Leadership and Certified Life Coach. Quiram is a former Public Works Director and Assistant Director of Public Works for the County of Orange and the cities of Ventura and Westwood. She also served as New Hampshire Commissioner of Administrative and Environmental Services.
Water Industry Affiliations: North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition, American Water Works Association, American Public Works Association, and National Water Resources Committee.
Q: How did you get interested in water issues?
A: My interest in water started as a little girl with a father that had a passion for water and took the family every Sunday on drives to water and wastewater treatment facilities 😊. Because of this instilled love for water, I later received my engineering degree with a focus on hydraulics and hydrology. Since that time, I have had the wonderful opportunity to work in the water, wastewater, stormwater, flood control, watershed planning and environmental professions in both the private sector and city, county and state governments. My passion for this industry has never stopped growing. I am very fortunate to have experienced the excitement of seeing all water become One Water! My passion for the always-interesting, constantly-changing and challenging world of water will never end.
Q: What are your priorities or interests as a Board member?
A: I will prioritize the availability of a safe, reliable, and affordable water and recycled water supply for all customers that we represent. I will personally and professionally prioritize listening to and understanding the diverse needs and opinions of other board members and the extremely qualified Water Authority staff and will ask questions and work hard to make the best decisions possible for the region.
Q: Besides maintaining safe and reliable water supplies, what do you see as the top three issues facing the San Diego region?
A: Housing and Transportation; The maintenance and replacement of aging infrastructure; More extreme weather in the future and the difficulty of planning and being prepared for droughts, floods and other events that challenge the people’s housing and infrastructure.
Q: What do you like to do when you are not working?
A: Spend time with my husband, children and grandchildren; Camp, hike and be outdoors, Facilitate skills classes and mentor and coach women.
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
For years, farmers in North County have warned they are imperiled by the high rates they have to pay the San Diego County Water Authority. Concerns are particularly acute among avocado growers within the Rainbow Municipal Water District and Fallbrook Public Utility District, where about 600 growers produce about 10 percent of the state’s crop on 5,300 acres.
