Media Coverage Archives

Opinion: San Diego is Thinking Big — Scary Big

February 11, 2021/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego has pretty much shed its image as a big small town, at least by the measure of potentially transformative proposals that could reshape the region for decades to come. Some of them are big and exciting, some big and scary— and often they are both. All of them are costly in terms of dollars and, potentially, in their impact on the land.

Whether they are the right things to do will be endlessly debated, even after some come to fruition — if they get that far.

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The Fast-Spreading Coronavirus Variant is Turning Up in US Sewers

A hyper-transmissible form of the coronavirus that causes covid-19 has been found in US sewer systems in California and Florida, confirming its widening presence in the US.

Buckets of dirty water drawn from sewer pipes near Los Angeles and outside Orlando starting in late January are among those in which genetic mutations shared by a so-called UK variant have been detected.

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Opinion: To Counter the Worsening Drought, California Needs Healthy Soils

February 11, 2021/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /CalMattersby Ellie Cohen, Torri Estrada

California is in the early stages of a severe multi-decadal drought, exacerbated by the climate crisis. As Dan Walters pointed out in his recent commentary, we must move quickly to prepare for water shortages and wildfires.

A potent strategy to improve the state’s water storage capacity involves an ancient technology so ubiquitous that it is often overlooked: soil. The urgency of California’s drought and wildfire risks require that we invest in soil health now.

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Scripps Oceanography Gets Share of California Energy Commission Contract to Simulate Climate Change

February 11, 2021/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Del MarTimesby Elisabeth Frausto

The California Energy Commission has awarded a $1.5 million contract to three University of California campuses, including UC San Diego, that will work in tandem to better simulate climate change scenarios that can be used by utilities and others to anticipate the effects.

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Soil Probe Tips for Success

February 11, 2021/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Water News Network

Knowing how to use a soil probe as an important soil management tool will support your effort to create a healthy, thriving landscape full of beautiful plants. You need to first know as much as possible about your soil to understand your irrigation needs. Irrigation is critical to keep your landscaping green and growing. But more isn’t better. One way to easily gauge your landscape’s needs is to use the Jar Test.

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Joe Biden Wants 100% Clean Energy. Will California Show that it’s Possible?

February 11, 2021/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

The undersea power line would run south from San Luis Obispo County, hugging the California coast for 200 miles before making landfall in or near Los Angeles. It would be able to carry electricity from a fleet of offshore wind turbines, providing Southern California with clean power after sundown and helping to replace fossil-fueled generators.

Fewer planet-warming emissions, less risk of blackouts and no chance of igniting the wildfires sometimes sparked by traditional power lines: Those are the arguments for the $1.9-billion Pacific Transmission Expansion.

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Scripps Researcher Finds Ozone-Eating Chemical Level Falling

February 11, 2021/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /KPBS San Diegoby Erik Anderson

A San Diego scientist says a surge in outlawed ozone-depleting gasses appears to be easing. Scripps Institution of Oceanography researcher Ray Weiss says levels of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere began rising a few years ago, even though they had been outlawed by the Montreal Protocol. The chemical was once used as a refrigerant and in the manufacture of foam, but CFCs were outlawed more than a decade ago.

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Hoch to Design Rainbow’s Hutton and Turner Pump Stations

February 10, 2021/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

Hoch Consulting has been given the Rainbow Municipal Water District contract to design the Hutton and Turner pump stations.

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Rainbow MWD Approves Lift Station Replacement MND

February 10, 2021/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The work which includes the replacement of the Rainbow Municipal Water District’s Lift Station No. 1 will have an environmental Mitigated Negative Declaration along with a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program.

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