As partners, the City of San Diego and the San Diego County Water Authority will begin negotiations on a project development agreement with the BHE Kiewit Team to develop Phase 1 of the potential San Vicente Energy Storage Facility Project, which could generate enough energy for about 135,000 households.
The proposed project is subject to a full environmental review and regulatory approvals.
Construction work is underway in several areas of San Diego, building major infrastructure projects for Phase 1 of Pure Water San Diego.
Pipelines, pump stations, and treatment facilities are all being built in the Morena, Bay Park, Clairemont, University City, Miramar, and Scripps Ranch communities. It is a milestone toward the realization of securing a local, drought-resilient water supply for San Diegans for generations to come.
Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Tanya Trujillo wrapped up a three-day trip to California today where she highlighted President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $8.3 billion investments in water management and drought resilience. During her visit, Assistant Secretary Trujillo met with elected officials, water managers, scientists, and local leaders to hear about the impacts that the climate crisis is having on the region and the Department’s commitment to investing in Western communities’ water infrastructure.
“As the West continues to face the impacts of the climate crisis and aging infrastructure, the Department of the Interior is working closely with local and federal partners to deploy critical resources to drought-stricken communities,” said Assistant Secretary Trujillo.
Lake Mead in southern Nevada saw extremely low levels of water in 2021.
And so the lower basin states of California, Nevada, and Arizona developed a plan to address the diminishing inflow from the Colorado River.
It’s called the “500-plus plan.”
The title refers to the goal of saving 500,000 acre feet of water per year in Lake Mead.
With all the rain California received in December, the state is in a better place fighting the drought.
Water levels are higher, which means there is more rainwater being saved in the state’s reservoirs.
This in turn means there is more water to go around as the state distributes from this supply to local water districts, which here in Kern County helps our agriculture community.
However, officials said it does not mean we can let our guard down.
Daniel Sinton’s family has raised cattle on their 18,000-acre ranch outside Paso Robles, California, for 140 years. But he likes to say he’s in the grass growing business.
“When you get so little rain, we’re not able to grow grass and we’re not able to feed the cattle. That means we ended up having to sell them off,” Sinton told CBS News. “We sold off about 40% of the cattle this last year.”
Putting steaks on plates has gotten more difficult, with 87% of the West currently in at least moderate drought. Industry analysts say a majority of California ranchers have had to sell at least some of their cattle because of the drought.
A massive water pipeline being laid in southern Kings County is sparking fresh fights between local farmers and the county’s biggest player in the water industry.
Wednesday, the Tulare Lake Canal Company, which operates the eponymous canal, sued Sandridge Partners, the diversified farming and water giant owned by John Vidovich, alleging Vidovich’s pipeline will interfere with its property rights and damage its ability to deliver water to its users.
Tulare Lake Canal holds dominant rights of way over its canal space and some adjacent property.
The Supreme Court appears ready to narrow the scope of the Clean Water Act, eliminating protections for many inland streams and wetlands that feed rivers, lakes and bays. But California is also ready, thanks to former President Donald Trump.
When Trump tried to roll back federal regulation of inland waterways toward the end of his term, California stepped in with new pollution controls designed to protect those waters within the state’s borders — regulations that would largely fill the gap the Supreme Court seems poised to create by mid-2023.
Enhancing the financial literacy of employees at the San Diego County Water Authority was a primary objective when staff submitted a grant application for a portion of $1.4 million in funds available to public employers by the Mission Square Research Institute.
The Water Authority was among 24 public sector employees selected for a grant and received $24,884 to implement its three-year strategic plan to help employees improve their financial wellness.
Despite the rain and snow that closed out 2021, California could be entering a third drought year as weeks of dry winter weather open the new year.
The state has experienced drought in 15 of the last 20 years, according to UC Davis. Experts say California is in the grip of a “megadrought.”
“It looks like, with a warming climate and climate change, it’s going to become more like this,” said Jay Lund, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis and director of the Center for Watershed Sciences.
