Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors unanimously voted at its Nov. 17 meeting to refund $1.62 million to customers to reduce the impact of future water rate increases. The refund resulted from lawsuits filed by San Diego County Water Authority in 2010 and 2018, challenging the legality of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s water rates and charges and seeking payment for legal damages and interest.
The Water News Network was honored with awards from several organizations recently, including the Public Relations Society of America.
On November 18, the WNN received a Bronze Bernays Award of Merit in the websites category from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) San Diego/Imperial County chapter. It is the second consecutive year the WNN website has received this award.
San Francisco’s robust water supply, long unruffled by the severe dry spell now in its second year, has finally begun to feel the pinch of drought, and city water managers are recognizing it may be time to cut back.
Officials at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission plan to ask city residents and businesses to reduce water use by 5%, compared to two years ago, and ask the more than two dozen communities that buy water from the city to reduce water use nearly 14%. The goal is a cumulative 10% savings.
Segal’s Law: “Someone with one watch knows what time it is. Someone with two watches is never sure.” Time is certain, but its estimation and measurement are uncertain, yet we are not in total ignorance. Many water management and regulation decisions require an understanding of current and future hydrology.
You may have seen it on social media or heard it while talking to a friend: This is a La Niña year, so California won’t get any rain this winter and the severe drought is only going to get worse. Right?
Maybe not. Although that’s a common belief, it’s not supported by past history. The reality is that a lot depends on where you live.
The Top Workplaces survey identified these companies as the best mid-size companies in 2021 included the San Diego County Water Authority.
The employee engagement survey of 24 questions gathers responses regarding issues relating to workplace culture:· Alignment – where the company is headed, its values, cooperation, effective meetings· Coaching – managers care about concerns, are helpful, encourage employee development· Connection – employees feel appreciated, work is meaningful, working at full potential, feel informed· Engagement – productivity, retention, recruiting· Leadership – confidence in company leaders· Performance – execution, open-mindedness, innovation, clued-in leadership· The Basics – pay, benefits, work/life flexibility, training, expectationsEmployers that score high enough are recognized as Top Workplaces. Employers are ranked within size groups to accurately compare results. Energage also determines special award winners based on standout scores on specific survey topics.Wonder why a particular company was not on the list? Perhaps it chose not to participate, or it did not score well enough in the survey. Energage sometimes disqualifies employers based on questionable results detected through statistical tests it runs to ensure organizations are accurately administering the survey.
Drivers heading into downtown San Diego faced a traffic nightmare Monday morning after two water mains burst Sunday, leaving a section of northbound Interstate 5 under water.
Starting around 11 p.m., all traffic on north I-5 was being diverted to north state Route 163. Crews were working to pump water out of the flooded lanes but no estimates were given as to when the freeway lanes would be driveable.
Caught in one of the driest two-year stretches in state history and with long-range weather forecasts coming up mostly empty, the key players battling California’s drought have plenty to be concerned about.
Whether it’s plunging reservoir levels, crumbling canals, empty wells or salmon die-offs, the water woes that have plagued the state for decades have returned forcefully during the pandemic.
The West could be facing a water shortage in the Colorado River that threatens a century-old agreement between states that share the dwindling resource.
That possibility once felt far off, but could come earlier than expected. One prominent water and climate scientist is sounding the alarm that the Colorado River system could reach that crossroads in the next five years, possibly triggering an unpredictable chain-reaction of legal wrangling that could lead to some water users being cut off from the river.
The Santa Fe Irrigation District Board of Directors approved a scheduled 3% rate adjustment at its November meeting, according to a news release. The increase will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.
The scheduled rate adjustment was a part of the board’s three-year rate structure approved in January 2020. Last November, the board voted to freeze any rate increases for 2021 and use reserves to absorb the 4.8% San Diego County Water Authority increases, citing fiscal management and impacts of the pandemic on the region and customers.
