Over the past several weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has created images Americans never expected to see in this country: Empty supermarket shelves and people lined up outside of markets waiting to enter to purchase food.
In an effort to save costs and reduce the impacts of declining untreated water sales, the Ramona Municipal Water District (RMWD) recently approved of implementing a three-phase strategy for converting from an untreated water system to treated, and in some cases, recycled water systems.
Plummeting tax revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer to propose sharp spending cuts in response to a projected $250 million budget gap.
More than 100 members of Congress, including 15 senators, are pressing the House and Senate leadership to include language in the next COVID-19 funding package prohibiting utilities from disconnecting customers who may not be able to pay their bills now or immediately after the crisis that has closed businesses and thrown millions out of work.
It seems like the thing to do. You use a disinfectant wet wipe, and you toss it in the toilet. Right? That’s actually wrong. It’s an issue causing problems for wastewater treatment systems on the Central and South Coasts. People are using wet wipes in record numbers because of coronavirus. But, they can create problems for your sewer system, and for wastewater treatment facilities.
A heavy week-long storm April 5-10 resulted in flooding and water damage for many homes and businesses. If your property or small business sustained damage from the rain, the County would like your help to estimate rain damages in our region.
Facing objections from water districts throughout Orange County, the agency that sells imported water to those districts has backed off — at least temporarily — on two proposals that critics said overstepped its mission and the appropriate bounds of its authority.
In San Diego County and across California, it’s been an awesome April for precipitation.
The Sierra snow pack, although still much smaller than normal for this point in spring, has partially made up what had been a huge shortfall just a few weeks ago. And just about every place from the desert to the coast has benefited from a substantial soaking.
Last week’s record-breaking storm lifted San Diego County well above normal precipitation for the rainfall season. The city of San Diego has had its wettest spring in decades, and it has already recorded 3 more inches of rain since Oct. 1 than it normally gets in an entire year.
A rising number of water utilities expect that the coronavirus pandemic will result in financial repercussions. Two-thirds of water utilities say that changes in water demand and customer payments during the coronavirus pandemic will cause cash flow problems within the next two months or more.
Californians reuse treated wastewater as a water supply, to irrigate crops, and to support freshwater ecosystems. To get answers to questions about managing the new coronavirus in the “sewershed,” we talked to two experts: Kara Nelson, an expert in waterborne pathogens at UC Berkeley; and Adam Link, executive director of the California Association of Sanitation Agencies.
