As snow and rain taper down Wednesday evening, Northern California will see another round of storms Thursday night into Friday. More rain and snow will return to the Valley and Sierra Thursday and Friday. Lingering showers are expected Saturday in the Valley, but the day will also see sunshine and long dry periods. The next wave of wet weather is expected next week.
In a water-stressed world, there’s a powerful business case for companies to manage this essential resource sustainably, engage in water stewardship and drive collective action. As a shared resource, water provides diminished benefits to all if each user acts only in their own self-interest. Addressing today’s wicked water problems – including droughts, dwindling groundwater and failing infrastructure – will require coordinated, collective responses. Companies across sectors, nonprofits, disclosure initiatives, industry associations and investor groups recognize this challenge and have responded with a range of water stewardship frameworks – in fact there are now more than 10 corporate water stewardship frameworks.
The San Diego County Water Authority will save approximately $100,000 per year with commercial-scale batteries installed at the agency’s Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant near San Marcos. The energy storage system is designed to reduce operational costs at the facility by storing low-cost energy for use during high-demand periods when energy prices increase. The batteries were installed at no charge to the Water Authority as part of an agreement with Santa Clara-based ENGIE Storage, a division of ENGIE North America, formerly known as Green Charge.
The biggest lake in California is shrinking. The Salton Sea occupies a hot, desert basin a short drive from the Mexico border and it’s been evaporating for years. From the air the lake is pear-shaped, bordered by an intense concentration of farms growing winter vegetables on its south end, and date palms, citrus and brussels sprouts to the north. It’s sustained by the Colorado River water that passes through these farms as irrigation before flowing into the 350 square mile lake. The fact the lake is disappearing isn’t a shock.
Now that real estate developer McKellar McGowan has backed out of redeveloping the 4.76-acre former PB Reservoir site on Los Altos Road in Pacific Beach, what’s to become of it? “There are a number of [other] parties interested in the property,” said Arian Collins, the City’s supervising public information officer. “Negotiations are continuing. We expect that they will wrap up in the next few weeks.” The former developer’s plans to transform the recently demolished reservoir site into 21 single-family homes met with stiff neighborhood opposition.
The state Department of Water Resources submitted its plan to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday to address findings in the independent forensic report. The extensive forensic report, released on Jan. 5, blamed “long-term systematic failure,” including faulty design and insufficient maintenance, for the Oroville Dam crisis in February 2017. It also had criticisms of DWR’s response to the spillways’ failure.
Pounding rains, heavy snow: It’s shaping up as another wintry week in Northern California. A significant storm poured into the region Tuesday, the first stage of an extended wet period that’s expected to continue through Friday and possibly into the weekend. “It’s a pretty good, wet five or six days or so,” said Mike Kochasic of the National Weather Service in Sacramento. After brief overnight drizzles, the rains started falling in earnest early Tuesday. Temperatures were warm at first, and motorists heading over the Sierra Nevada found themselves dealing with raindrops instead of snow.
The Metropolitan Water District’s Board of Directors Tuesday voted to spend $14.7 million over three years to continue its advertising and public outreach campaign promoting water conservation. The vote approved a contract with Los Angeles-based firm Quigley-Simpson & Heppelwhite to lead a new campaign that will feature ads on television, radio, streaming radio, newspapers, billboards, buses and social media. “These efforts have produced results. Our research shows attitudes toward conservation have changed, awareness has increased. But we still have work to do,” Metropolitan board Chairman Randy Record said.
With long-term drought conditions well on their way back into California, an incoming period of wet, stormy weather will be welcome by many. A recent bout of heavy rain brought as much as one-third to 100 percent of the month’s normal precipitation to several cities, including Santa Barbara, San Diego and Los Angeles. In addition to the heavy high-elevation snowfall of recent weeks, it may seem like the area is well on its way out of the drought – however, it will take many rounds of similarly wet days to bring the water supply back to necessary levels.
In May 2017, San Diego city officials made an important announcement regarding the future of the city’s water supply. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the city planned to blend treated sewer water with the regular drinking water supply. Fast forward to 2018 and the project is moving right along. On March 6, the State Water Board announced the approval of new regulations. These detail the use and quality of recycled sewer water that will later blend with surface water reservoirs.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
