Water from the 108-year-old Lake Hodges dam was released into the San Dieguito River to meet safety requirements, the city of San Diego said Wednesday.
The city said recent rain raised the levels of the Hodges Reservoir beyond the 280-foot-elevation threshold set by the Division of Safety of Dams, making the water release necessary. The 280-foot level is 35 feet below the dam’s spillway.
Late this year, drivers traveling westbound along Rancho Bernardo Road toward Interstate 15 might want to find alternative routes to avoid delays.
Up to two westbound lanes of RB Road, just east of the freeway and adjacent to The Mercado, will be closed for work on the Ramona Pipeline during at least a couple weeks between November and January 2027. The exact date is not yet known.
The third and final round of this week’s winter weather will move through on Thursday, bringing more rain, wind, and possible mountain snow.
This round may not have as much moisture, but it will be colder, NBC 7’s meteorologist Greg Bledsoe said. Light to moderate rain will move in on Thursday afternoon. Rain totals will range from about a quarter to a half inch for the coast and valleys, and then about a half inch to an inch for the foothills and mountains.
A nearly $87 million project to improve Poway’s water system will reach another milestone this spring when an aging Clearwell is replaced with two 4 million-gallon circular concrete water tanks.
The Clearwell replacement project is under budget, approximately 95% complete and on schedule for commissioning in spring 2026, according to a staff report.
Rounds of heavy rainfall and significant mountain snowfall are occurring across the West, especially in California.
We need the snow, but the heavy rain is causing flooding across lower elevations, burn scars and foothills.
The second wave of a dawdling Pacific storm hit San Diego County before dawn Wednesday, producing 76 mph winds on Palomar Mountain, 50 mph gusts at coast, heavy rain in such cities as Escondido and Valley Center, lightning near Miramar, and snow that’s continuing to fall on Mount Laguna, which could end up with one foot of the white power by late today, the National Weather Service said.
The weather also delayed 28 flights through 7:00 a.m. at San Diego International Airport and dropped enough rain to make freeways slick during the morning rush hour.
Construction on new water infrastructure is moving full steam ahead at Mission Trails Regional Park.
Crews have already completed more than 15% of the pipeline installation for this phase of the East County Advanced Water Purification program. Once finished, the AWP Program will supply up to 30% of East County’s drinking water, using state-of-the-art technology to purify recycled water, marking a big step toward a more reliable local water supply.
The seven Colorado River basin states missed a key federal deadline to reach a new water usage agreement, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is now likely to impose a solution of its own.
Why it matters: The Central Arizona Project (CAP), which transports water from the Colorado River to the interior of the state, is likely to see serious cuts as the feds seek to manage the basin through a “megadrought” that’s persisted for more than 20 years.
The Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has unanimously certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Pure Water Southern California, concluding more than five years of technical studies, public outreach and environmental analysis for the proposed large-scale water reuse initiative.
Certification of the EIR completes the project’s review under the California Environmental Quality Act and allows Metropolitan to move ahead with future deliberations on potential implementation. These upcoming decisions are expected to address issues such as project phasing, funding strategies, design and construction timelines, and will be considered as part of Metropolitan’s Climate Adaptation Master Plan for Water evaluation process and its biennial budget review.
The first of two strong Pacific storms this week began battering Southern California on Monday, generating downpours and gusty winds, along with high surf along the coast.
The storm first hit Northern California before making its way to the southern part of the state, where it is expected to continue pouring rain into early Tuesday morning.
