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Don Jones, the veteran water industry professional who is overseeing the transition of Cuyamaca College’s Water and Wastewater Technology program into the Center for Water Studies. Photo: David Ogul, Water Authority

Center for Water Studies Moves Into New Home at Cuyamaca College

/in , /by by Water News Network staff

The transformation of Cuyamaca College’s trailblazing Water and Wastewater Technology Program into the Center for Water Studies is all but complete.

Among the premier water and wastewater training facilities in California, the Center for Water Studies relocated in late August to a renovated complex complete with new classrooms, a water quality analysis laboratory and a workshop for back flow, cross-connection controls, and related skills-based courses. The complex sits next to a state-of-the-art field operations skills yard that opened in January, with an above-ground water distribution system and an underground wastewater collection system. The facility aims to simulate the challenges that students will face on the job in advanced water and wastewater facilities.

“With the completion of these new facilities, our Center for Water Studies is now the flagship water and wastewater technology program in the entire California Community Colleges’ system, and one of the premier programs of its kind available anywhere in the western United States,” said Don Jones, the veteran water industry professional overseeing the transition of Cuyamaca College’s Water and Wastewater Technology program into the Center for Water Studies for the past decade.

The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District’s Proposition V construction bond provided $1.2 million in funding to reconstruct the building. Funds from the college’s National Science Foundation’s “California WaterWorks: Building the People Pipeline” grant helped pay for tools and equipment to foster a learn-by-doing environment. The Field Operations Skills Yard was built through approximately $200,000 from a California Community Colleges Strong Workforce grant, more than $70,000 from the National Science Foundation grant, and approximately $130,000 in pipe fittings, valves, meters and other equipment donated by water industry manufacturers and distributors.

Producing the next generation of water professionals

Don Ogul in the new water quality analysis laboratory at the Center for Water Studies at Cuyamaca College, which opened last week. Photo: David Ogul, Water Authority.

Don Jones in the new water quality analysis laboratory at the Center for Water Studies at Cuyamaca College, which opened last week. Photo: David Ogul, Water Authority.

The Center for Water Studies is already making a difference in a region where water industry professionals are needed to replace the more than 1,200 industry employees who are at or nearing retirement age. The Center has been reaching out to high school students in STEM fields, transitioning military, women, and other traditionally underrepresented populations to explore water and wastewater technology careers. The Center collaborates with Grossmont Union High School District science instructors and water industry experts to develop specialized lesson plans related to water and wastewater management skills.

In January 2019, the Center for Water Studies will host the second annual Women in Water: Exploring Career Pathways symposium. Recently, nine Center for Water Studies students were among 17 selected to participate in the 2018-2019 San Diego Region Water and Wastewater Internships program supported by the Water Authority, its member agencies, and community college water and wastewater technology programs.

The Center’s National Science Foundation grant, which totals almost $900,000, will cover the cost of curriculum development among the participating agencies and educators.

Water industry professionals supportive of program’s goals

The Center for Water Studies evolved through discussions with the Cuyamaca College Water and Wastewater Technology Program’s Industry Advisory Committee, which comprises water industry professionals from the Water Authority and many of its member agencies. Support from local water agencies has been strong. The Otay Water District’s Board of Directors presented Cuyamaca College President Julianna Barnes with a $5,000 check for the new center in August.

An official dedication ceremony for the new complex is tentatively set for January.

Coral Aloe will protect your property from wildfire while it brightens your sustainable landscape. Photo: Don Graham/Flickr-Creative Commons license Firefighting plants

Call On These Five Firefighting Plants

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Wildfire is a real and constant threat in San Diego County year-round, but particularly in the late summer and fall months. This is especially true in wildland interface areas where homes are right next to the backcountry. Landscape design, plant selection, and maintenance must be done in accordance with fire-safe guidelines. 

Wildfire is a real and consistent threat 

Plan your landscaping according to principles governing three different zones:  

Zone 1: Through smart design elements and plant selection, landscapes should resist ignition and provide 35 feet of actively maintained defensible space around structures and access areas. This maximizes fire prevention and allows access by crews to protect your property from fire, if necessary. 

Zone 2: Your landscape should reduce the chances of airborne embers from catching fire through a careful thinning of native vegetation for at least 65 additional feet — a total of 100 feet of defensible space.  

Zone 3: Many of San Diego County’s native plant communities including chaparral can survive and recover from infrequent wildfires. Some plants use fire as a signal to begin growth and start the germination process after a fire.  

When fires occur too frequently, the ability to survive is disrupted for even the most well-adapted plants. Invasive, non-native plant species have made fires more frequent, of longer duration, and hotter. It is critical to remove invasive plants in fire-prone areas.

Use plants that resist ignition 

Some native plants have the ability to prevent airborne plant embers. They have a high salt or water content and low volatile oil content in their leaves. For instance, agaves, aloes, crassulas, and other succulents store extra water in their fleshy leaves.  

Five firefighting plant choices include: 

  • Daylily hybrids 
  • Coral Aloe 
  • Indian Mallow
  • Bush Morning Glory 
  • California Sycamore trees 

Avoid plants that can fuel wildfires  

Messy, oily trees and shrubs, such as eucalyptus and junipers, do the opposite. They ignite quickly, burning hot and long, releasing embers into the air and contributing to the spread of wildfire. 

Preventative maintenance includes regularly removing dry grass, thatch, brush, weeds, litter, waste, and dead and dying vegetation. Trees should be properly pruned. Shrubs should be thinned, with dead branches and leaves routinely removed. Leave root structures intact to avoid erosion. Dead leaves and branches are especially flammable on evergreen shrubs and vines such as bougainvillea. Avoid planting these close to homes or other structures. 

This article was inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.    

 

 

  

Match your plant choices to the different microclimate areas in your landscaping. A microclimate map helps you make good choices. Photo: Water Authority

Sustainable Landscapes Takes Root in San Diego

/in , /by by Water News Network staff

More than 225 San Diego County homeowners have transformed their landscapes into beautiful, climate-appropriate mini-watersheds through the Sustainable Landscapes Incentive Program developed by the San Diego County Water Authority and its partners.

Since the program launched in October 2016, more than 354,000 square feet of turf has been removed and replaced with sustainable landscaping. Approximately 100 projects are still under way, though the program isn’t taking new applications.

Instead, a new generation of rebates is available through the Landscape Transformation Program offered by the Water Authority and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Residential rebates start at $1 per square foot, up to $1,500 per year. In the Water Authority’s service area, participants can receive $2.75 to $4 per square foot, depending on their retail water agency and funding availability. For more information, go to SoCalWaterSmart.com.

“We are leaders in developing innovative initiatives like the Sustainable Landscapes Program, and we are pleased to see other programs embracing the same holistic approach,” said Carlos Michelon, who leads the Water Authority’s conservation team.

Removing turf grass is one of the best ways to reduce outdoor water use – but it’s just a piece of the larger movement toward sustainable landscapes. A holistic approach to environmental stewardship involves enhancements such as reducing or preventing wasteful runoff by using rainwater capture or filtration systems, along with other upgrades.

In San Diego County, the Sustainable Landscapes Program helped generate substantial interest, and it set the bar for similar efforts to include education, technical assistance and incentives.

“As with the initial Sustainable Landscapes Program, the new incentive program requires that homeowners incorporate the four key components of sustainable landscaping: healthy soils, high-efficiency irrigation, rainwater harvesting and climate-appropriate plants,” said Jana Vierola, a water resources specialist for the Water Authority.

“People are putting much more thought and care into their landscapes,” she said. “It’s not just gravel and two plants. People are creating sustainable designs for much more of a long-term commitment.”

An example of the upgrades inspired by the Sustainable Landscapes Program:

Before and after views of a landscaping project in San Diego. Photos: Water Authority. Sustainable landscaping

Before and after views of a landscaping project in San Diego. Photos: Water Authority.

Free WaterSmart classes help homeowners achieve successful results

Vierola said homeowners interested in sustainable landscaping should take advantage of the Water Authority’s free WaterSmart classes and other resources.

“Residents who participate in our classes and follow the guidebook tend to have more successful projects,” Vierola said. “Through these educational programs and resources, customers get a better understanding of best practices and recommendations for a watershed approach to landscaping.”

The next Three-Hour Landscape Design for Homeowners workshops are August 28 in Encinitas, September 8 in Fallbrook, September 22 in Oceanside, and October 27 in Vista. Click here for details.

 

On January 10, 1957, the Water Authority’s Board of Directors approved construction of the Second San Diego Aqueduct.

1957: Second San Diego Aqueduct Approved To Support Growing Region

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After completion of Pipeline 2, in the First San Diego Aqueduct in 1954, it soon became clear additional water would be needed to sustain the growing region. On January 10, 1957, the Water Authority’s Board of Directors approved preliminary plans for the construction of the Second San Diego Aqueduct. The general manager was directed to expand the engineering staff and prepare construction drawings and specifications for building another aqueduct, which eventually extended from the Metropolitan Water District’s delivery point in North County to the City of San Diego’s Otay Reservoir.

Over the next 25 years, three pipelines were completed in the Second Aqueduct, bringing the Water Authority’s total pipeline capacity to about 1 million acre-feet per year.

 

Great Groundcovers To Consider as Lawn Substitutes

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You may have decided to replace your thirsty traditional lawn in your new sustainable landscape. What options are available for  some kind of natural plant element rather than covering the same area with hardscaping?  

Consider replacing the lawn with a groundcover type plant. There are many good choices that make good lawn substitutes and grow well in San Diego’s six climate zones. Several of them fall into the very low or low Plant Factor categories, which means they require less water than the same amount of grass.  

Very Low Plant Factor choices include: 

  • Silver Carpet (Dymondia margaretae) 
  • Bluff California Lilac (Ceanothus maritimus)

Low Plant Factor choices include:  

Lawn Substitutes groundcovers

Bee’s bliss sage also attracts valuable pollinators.

  • Pink Yarrow (Achillea millefolium rosea) 
  • Gold Coin Plant (Asteriscus maritumus) 
  • Sundrops (Calylophus hartwegii)
    Carmel Mountain ceanothus 
  • Dwarf Mat Rush (Lomandra longfolia) 
  • Bee’s Bliss Sage (Salvia) 
  • Wooly Thyme (Thymus pseudolanguinosus) 
  • Blue Chalksticks (Senecio serpens) 

Moderate Plant Factor choices include: 

Beach Strawberry lawn substitutes

Beach Strawberry makes an attractive lawn substitute.

  • Creeping Manzanita ‘Carmel Sur’ (Arctostaphylos edmunsii) 
  • Beach Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) 
  • Pink yarrow, sages, and lilacs also support the lifecycle of butterflies, which are important pollinators.  

This article was inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.   

READ MORE: Inspiring Charge At The Water Conservation Garden

 

 

  

Bobby Bond Jr. shows the skills that won him the title of "Master Opeartor" at the 2018 MSA San DIego/APWA Skills Competition. Poto: Courtesy MSA San DIego

Water Authority A Winner At Skills Competition

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Two San Diego County Water Authority employees took home first place honors in the annual – and unusual – competition that tests the mettle of public works professionals with backhoes, wheelbarrows and other tools of the trade.

Bobby Bond Jr. of the San Diego County Water Authority wins the title of "Master Operator" at the MSA San Diego/APWA 2018 Skills Competition. Photo: Courtesy MSA San DIego

Bobby Bond Jr. of the San Diego County Water Authority wins the title of “Master Operator” at the MSA San Diego/APWA 2018 Skills Competition. Photo: Courtesy MSA San DIego

And one Water Authority veteran – Bobby Bond Jr. – earned the title of 2018 Master Operator for completing all the events in the lowest combined time.

Twelve teams of four crew members participated, and 24 operators vied for the title of Master Operator at the July event hosted by the San Diego Chapter of the Maintenance Supervisors Association and American Public Works Association in Chula Vista.

The City of Chula Vista won the team title for 2018, followed by the City of El Cajon and the Water Authority in third place. Representing the Water Authority was the four-man team of Bond, Patrick Barreiro, John Brown and Tony Cepeda.

Brown took first in the backhoe operator category, and Cepeda won first place in the wheelbarrow skills. He said his co-workers have been supportive and happy with the Water Authority team’s third place finish.

“It’s fun, it’s teamwork building, and having a good time,” he said. “We work with each other every day, we are like a family here.”

Annual event tests same skills used maintaining vital infrastructure

The annual event tests the same skills participants use while maintaining water and wastewater systems, streets, and other vital infrastructure residents and businesses rely on every day. Tasks included Backhoe Skills, Skid Steer Skills, Mini-Excavator Skills, Sign Assembly, and Wheelbarrow Skills. The team with the best overall combined time won the perpetual trophy, along with bragging rights.

After winning the backhoe category in 2017, Bond captured the 2018 Master Operator title by completing tasks in the lowest overall combined time. He said the competition may be challenging, but it is child’s play compared to the work he and his colleagues perform every day for the Water Authority.

“I’ve dug around utilities including chemical lines, fiber optic lines, and around aqueducts,” said Bond. “I once dug a water line 200 feet and crossed 40 different utilities.”

Brown agrees. “Knocking a tennis ball off a cone (in competition) equals breaking a pipe potentially” on the job, he said.

Cepeda, a Maintenance Worker I who has been with the Water Authority just over a year, helps maintain roads along major Water Authority pipeline corridors and other major structures. “I went for it, gave it a shot, and out of luck I took first place,” said Cepeda. His strategy in maneuvering the wheelbarrow on the course against the clock? “Just run fast!”

Also winning honors was David Hernado of the Vallecitos Water District, who placed first in the Sign Assembly Skills Competition.

Brown and Bond Jr. will compete for Water Authority in upcoming national competition

John Brown of the San Diego County Water Authority wins the Backhoe Skills category at the MSA San Diego/APWA 2018 Skills Competition. Photo: Courtesy MSA San DIego

Along with the good-natured competition, the event’s main objective is to provide valuable training, and showcase the Maintenance Supervisors Association vendors who provide the materials, supplies, and equipment needed to keep regional public works functioning at their highest level. Three hundred members attended this year’s event.

APWA will sponsor the top two equipment operators including Brown and Bond Jr. to compete at the 2018 APWA PWX National APWA ROADEO in Kansas City, Missouri on August 28-29. “We’re real busy at work, we’re running every day,” said Bond, which will allow him and Brown to get in plenty of practice before heading to Kansas City.

The full list of results:

Wheel Barrow Skills Competition:

Tony Cepeda of the San Diego County Water Authority wins the Wheel Barrow Skills category at the MSA San Diego/APWA 2018 Skills Competition. Photo: Courtesy MSA San DIego

1st Place
Tony Cepeda, San Diego County Water Authority 1 minute, 1 second

2nd Place
Sean McRory, City of Encinitas, 1 minute, 2 seconds

3rd Place
Margarito Corado, City of Chula Vista, 1 minute, 4 Seconds
Mario Serrano, City of Vista, 1 minute, 4 Seconds

Sign Assembly Skills Competition:

1st Place – Tie
David Hernado, Vallecitos Water District. 2 minutes, 29 Seconds

2nd Place
Esteban Garcia, City of El Cajon, 2 minutes, 34 Seconds

3rd Place
Arturo Garcia, City of San Diego, 2 minutes, 38 Seconds

Backhoe Operator Competition:

1st Place
John Brown, San Diego County Water Authority, 1 minute, 35 Seconds

2nd Place
Bobby Bond, San Diego County Water Authority, 1 minutes, 36 Seconds

3rd Place
Bryce Greschke, City of Poway, 1 minute, 51 Seconds

Skid Steer Operator Competition:

1st Place
Brian Smith, City of La Mesa, 1 minutes, 40 Seconds

2nd Place
Derek Imoto, City of Encinitas, 2 minutes, 11 Seconds

3rd Place
John Brown, San Diego County Water Authority, 2 minutes, 33 Seconds

Mini Excavator Operator Competition:

1st Place
Geovanni Meza, City of El Cajon, 38 Seconds

2nd Place
John Collingwood, City of San Diego, 39 Seconds

3rd Place
Bobby Bond, San Diego County Water Authority, 47 Seconds

Overall “Roadeo” Competition Champions

1st Place
City of Chula Vista, 9 minutes, 56 Seconds

2nd Place
City of El Cajon, 10 minutes, 26 Seconds

3rd Place
San Diego County Water Authority, 11 minutes, 5 Seconds

Dedication ceremony at Oat Hills Tunnel, releasing water into the San Diego Aqueduct. Left to Right: Chairman Fred A. Heilbron, Water Authority; D.E. Howell, San Diego County; E.G. Nielsen, Bureau of Reclamation; Chairman Joseph Jensen, Metropolitan Water District; Capt. C.W. Porter, U.S. Navy. Extreme left: General Manager and Chief Engineer Richard S. Holmgren observing removal of bulkhead. Photo: SDCWA Archives

1954: Water Flows Freely Through Entire First Aqueduct

/in /by by Water News Network Staff

On Oct. 2, 1954, the Water Authority celebrated the completion of the San Diego Aqueduct. A dedication ceremony was held with the S.A. Healy Company, contractor of the last section of the aqueduct. During the ceremony, Captain C.W. Porter, representing the Commandant of the Eleventh Naval District of the U.S. Navy, presented a letter to Board Chairman Fred A. Heilbron and General Manager and Chief Engineer Richard S. Holmgren, turning over control of the second “barrel” of the aqueduct to the Water Authority. The withdrawal of the last bulkhead in the aqueduct at the south portal of Oat Hills Tunnel (see photo) allowed water to flow uninterrupted for the first time through the entire length of the aqueduct.

With a little thoughtful planning and good choices, lawn can still be a good choice in waterwise landscaping. Photo: Pixabay/Cromaconceptovisual Waterwise Lawns

When It Comes To Lawns, Use it or Lose It

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If you have a desire and a need to retain turf as part of your landscaping, consider adopting the most efficient and organic maintenance plan possible. Lawns that are maintained organically and with efficient irrigation can offer a cool, practical surface for active recreation, or just hanging out with your family.  

Most lawns suffer from inefficient maintenance. They require too much water and energy. They become major sources of pollution from fertilizers and pesticide runoff. For these reasons, lawns should be limited to accessible, usable, high-functioning spaces like children’s play yards, sports fields, and picnicking areas. 

It’s smart to rethink the idea of lawns as all-purpose, wall-to-wall groundcover. In many cases, there is no need to maintain so much lawn. If you decide to keep your grass areas, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically. 

If you decide to keep your grass areas, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically. Photo: Alicja/Creative Commons Waterwise Lawns

If you decide to keep your grass areas, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically. Photo: Alicja/Creative Commo

  • Apply a thin layer of compost annually. 
  • Aerate and de-thatch your lawn annually. 
  • Manage your irrigation carefully. Control overspray and fix problems promptly. 
  • Mow less frequently. Maintain 3 to 4 inches of height on cool season grass, and 1.5 to 2 inches of height on warm season grass.  
  • Grass-cycle every time you mow. 
  • Don’t allow seed heads to form on the grass, and remove those that do form. 
  • Consider over-seeding with clover to help make the grass more interesting looking and more drought-tolerant. 
  • Eliminate chemical inputs to your grass. 

What’s the difference between Cool Season Grass and Warm Season Grass? 

Cool Season Grass: 

  • Needs more water than warm season grass and is considered a high use plant. 
  • Requires watering in hot summers to prevent it from going dormant and turning brown 
  • Grows typically as bunch grasses and propagates by seed or weak stolons. 
  • Cool season grass is easily smothered by sheet mulching.
  • Varieties include: Bent Grass (Agrostis), Fescue varieties (Festuca), Kentucky Bluegress (Poa pratensis), Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne) 

Warm Season Grass: 

  • Is a moderate water use plant. 
  • Peaks when temperatures exceed 80 degrees, but it will go dormant (brown) in winter months when it is rainy and cool. 
  • Grows from sturdy rhizomes extending deep underground. Warm season grasses require physical removal and/or extensive sheet mulching (up to 12 inches).
  • Varieties inclue: Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylan), Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis), Buffalo Grass (Buchloe actyloides), St. Augustine Grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), Zoysia, and Seashore Paspalum.  

This article was inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.   

READ MORE: Evapotranspiration – The Key To Watering Your Plants

 

  

Water Shortage Headlines Collage

1990s: Drought Prompts Supply Diversification Strategy

/in /by by Water News Network Staff

In the early 1990s, the Water Authority received 95 percent of its water from a single source — the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California — making the region vulnerable to supply shortages. In February 1991, worsening drought conditions forced MWD to cut deliveries to the San Diego region by 31 percent. The cutbacks lasted for more than a year, prompting local business and community leaders to ask the Water Authority why it depended on a single source for virtually all of its water. Since then, the Water Authority has aggressively diversified the San Diego region’s water supply portfolio to ensure reliability. Today, the region relies on MWD for about 40 percent of its supplies.

San Diego County Water Authority Board Chairman Mark Muir. Photo: Water Authority Historic water deal

Historic Water Deal Provides Less Expensive, More Reliable Supplies

/in , /by /San Diego County Water Authorityby Mark Muir, Board Chair

A historic achievement for the San Diego region passed almost unnoticed when the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors adopted new wholesale water rates in late June.

The rate-setting process highlighted how the Water Authority’s independent water supplies from the Colorado River are now both less expensive and more reliable than supplies from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. It’s an accomplishment that the region’s water officials started working toward two decades ago, and one that will bear fruit for decades to come.

The value of our independent water supplies will grow in coming years given the rapid increases in MWD’s rates, which have risen far faster than the cost of the Water Authority’s Colorado River supplies secured in 2003 through a complex, multi-state pact known as the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

Historic agreeement secures San Diego economy and quality of life

From the start, that landmark deal helped secure our economy and quality of life by giving us a major new source of water with a higher priority – or legal right – to Colorado River water than MWD. The agreement allowed the Water Authority to transfer increasingly large amounts of conserved water from the Imperial Valley to San Diego, so that by 2020 it will meet about half of our region’s projected water demand.

That visionary agreement also minimized the impact of MWD’s water delivery cutbacks during the past two droughts. In 2015, for example, MWD reduced water deliveries by 15 percent, but the Water Authority’s independent supplies meant we had enough water to meet 99 percent of normal demand.

While the supply benefits of the conservation-and-transfer agreement have long been clear, the region is just now starting to feel the cost benefits as well.

Here’s why: At the start, our independent Colorado River supplies were more expensive than MWD water. However, the cost of the Water Authority’s independent Colorado River supplies is controlled by a contract linked to the rate of inflation, which means those costs are rising far more slowly than MWD’s rates and charges.

Millions in savings achieved

In addition, the Water Authority has benefited from lawsuits that forced MWD to drop illegal charges for delivering our independent Colorado River supplies. A 2017 appellate court ruling netted the Water Authority about $15 million in savings in 2019, with tens of millions of additional savings in years to come.

The combined effect is that the Water Authority’s independent Colorado River supplies are less expensive than MWD supplies by $44 per acre-foot this year. In 2019, the difference will grow to $68 per acre-foot, and in 2020 our independent supplies are projected to be less expensive by $121 per acre-foot.

That’s worth celebrating because it means regional wholesale water rate increases in 2019 are among the lowest in 15 years – a testament to the all those who have worked for decades to secure a safe, reliable and cost-effective water supply for everyone who calls this place home.