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OPINION: In Response: Water Cost Story Missed Key Points

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Mark Muir Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Re “County water move has its costs” (July 1): The San Diego Union-Tribune addressed an important regional question on whether the San Diego County Water Authority’s decades-long strategy to create a reliable portfolio of water supplies is worth the cost. Unfortunately, the story omitted clear-cut evidence that the region’s supply reliability strategy is an unqualified success: Our independent water supplies from the Colorado River are both less expensive and more reliable than supplies from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which have been cut twice in the past decade by drought.

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With State Allocation Set, Sites Reservoir Officials Begin Securing More Funding

/in , /by /Appeal Democrat (Marysville)by Jake Abbott

The Sites Reservoir project will move forward, according to officials, despite being awarded in a recent California Water Commission announcement about half what project backers sought. They will spend the next few months securing the necessary financing to begin the next phase. The Commission announced Tuesday that Sites could expect $816 million in state funding. “We are pleased to reach this milestone,” said Jim Watson, general manager of the Sites Project Authority.

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OPINION: Don’t Just Blame The Meter Readers For San Diego’s Water Billing Scandal

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

A new report from City Auditor Eduardo Luna about erroneous water bills serves as a clear indictment of the city’s Public Utilities Department. It detailed how 2,750 water bills sent to residents in 2017 were incorrect, often by hundreds of dollars, and that the problem stemmed from mistakes made by the city’s 36 meter readers — 10 of whom were to blame for 71 percent of the errors. Luna’s audit noted that just in the month of December, one meter reader was responsible for about 330 mistakes. That person no longer works for the city, which is a relief.

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OPINION: To Prepare For Climate Change, California Is Making A Huge Investment In Water Storage

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Armando Quintero and Carol Baker

On Tuesday, the California Water Commission completed a groundbreaking process to make the state’s largest investment in water storage in a generation. With the commission’s action, eight diverse projects around the state are in line to receive nearly $2.7 billion from Proposition 1, approved by voters in 2014. These projects – including $816 million for the Sites reservoir north of Sacramento – could add 4.3 million acre-feet of new water storage both above and below ground, better preparing California for climate change and drought.

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Water Still Top Enviro Issue; Motor Voter Registers 250,000 More

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Bryan Anderson

ThePublic Policy Institute of California released a poll Wednesday, examining the public’s attitudes on a range of environmental issues. Findings show water remains the top environmental issue for likely California voters. The poll also reveals a strong partisan divide on the issue of global warming. Here’s what you need to know:

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San Diego Water Bill Audit Finds Thousands Of Errors, Meter Readers Can Bypass Accuracy Checks

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Bradley J. Fikes

A major, months-long audit of the city’s utilities department, sparked by a public outcry over high water bills, concluded that 2,750 water bills sent to San Diego residents last year were incorrect and had to be readjusted while discovering that 10 meter readers accounted for 71 percent of the errors. The city audit released Thursday also found that meter readers figured out how to bypass an accuracy check required when meters are read and the city’s Public Utilities Department doesn’t measure the performance of its 36 meter readers.

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Daily Business Report-July 26, 2018: Water Authority Expands Water-Use Efficiency Opportunities For Low-Income Homes

/in , /by /San Diego Metro Magazine Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority is expanding a long-running partnership with San Diego Gas & Electric to increase the availability of devices that save both water and energy for thousands of income-qualified residents across the region. The Water Authority’s investment of $150,000 will supplement funding for water-saving devices, allowing SDG&E’s Energy Savings Assistance Program to serve more customers. Approximately 21,000 residents annually have participated in the program, receiving assistance for devices such as low-flow showerheads and efficient washing machines.

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Mayor Vows ‘Sweeping Reform’ In Utilities Department Over Water Bill Errors

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer Thursday called for “sweeping reform” within the Public Utilities Department following widespread complaints of inaccurate water billing from late 2017 into this year. Reports by City Auditor Eduardo Luna‘s office and business consulting firm West Monroe Partners found that meter reading employee errors, lack of oversight and insufficient quality control led to billing complaints, in addition to scheduled rate increases, higher water use after drought restrictions were lifted as well as a longer billing cycle between September and December.

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Diamond Valley Lake Near Hemet To Reopen After Month-Long Closure For Blue-Green Algae

/in , /by /The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.)by Ryan Hagen

Boating, fishing and hiking will be allowed again at Diamond Valley Lake near Hemet starting Friday, July 27 — more than a month after it closed because of an algal bloom outbreak. Water quality tests confirmed the potential health effects of a large bloom of blue-green algae had diminished, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said in a Wednesday, July 25, news release.

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Los Angeles Utility Wants To Solve Energy Storage With The Hoover Dam

/in , /by /Next City (Philadelphia, Pa.)by Rachel Dovey

Clean energy storage is a billion-dollar problem — but Elon Musk aside, a number of technologists are eyeing existing infrastructure and wondering how it could, effectively, serve the function of a giant battery. Take the California utility proposal Next City reported on earlier this year. Because school buses operate on fixed schedules and sit idle during peak demand times, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. wants to study whether electric school buses can effectively store power from renewables, and then send that power back to the grid when necessary.

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