The Port of San Diego has joined San Diego County and the cities of San Diego and Imperial Beach in declaring a local emergency related to the ongoing Tijuana River Valley pollution crisis, officials said Wednesday.
Residents in east San Diego County will get purified water flowing from their faucets starting in 2026. Construction to build the East County Advanced Water Purification Program is “well underway,” according to Mark Niemiec, the program’s director. The program aims to use state-of-the-art technology to purify recycled water in East County and transform it into clean and safe drinking water.
Hundreds of miles away and nearly 7,000 feet up in the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, the most recent snow survey delivers good news: The state’s snowpack is at 110% of normal, a good sign for the water supply.
California has more than 1,000 thousand miles of coastline and the water in the Pacific Ocean presents an opportunity for more fresh water in the state. Unlocking the opportunity takes time, money and resources, and some experts say it’s not for everyone.
California’s major reservoirs are nearly full thanks to two wet winters, the Sierra snowpack is deeper than usual and the state is likely to receive even more rain and snow this spring.
Californians don’t have to worry too much about drought for the foreseeable future.
The state’s Department of Water Resources said Tuesday’s snowpack survey revealed the snowfall in the Sierra Nevada mountains is above average at roughly 113%.
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released the final version of California Water Plan Update 2023. This plan is a critical planning tool and can now be used by water managers, such as water districts, cities and counties, and Tribal communities, to inform and guide the use and development of water resources in the state.
As of Monday morning, water tainted with untreated sewage from Mexico was flowing at 171 million gallons per day, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission.
The IBWC is also reporting that so far this year, the transboundary volume in the Tijuana River has been 25.3 billion gallons, although it says the composition of this flow is estimated to be 95% stormwater.
The Sierra Nevada was so bereft of snow in December that skiers and farmersalike worried that a disappointing winter was sure to give way to a drought-ridden spring and summer.
After two years of above-average rainfall, the reservoirs in San Diego are at near capacity. San Vicente’s reservoir waterfalls are spilling in to help raise the water level, but what does that mean as we head into the Summer months?
