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IID Board to Seat Two New Faces, Current Board Members Look to the Future

/in , , /by /The Desert Reviewby Eniyah Jackman

The Imperial Irrigation District focuses on providing water and energy supply to Imperial County and some parts of Riverside and San Diego counties. Recent elections had two open seats for the IID Board of Directors — Divisions 2 and 4, which were filled by Bruce Kuhn and Erik Ortega respectively.

With the incumbents’ loss, the two open seats have been filled by JB Hamby for Division 2, and Javier Gonzalez for Division 4.

Despite the possible challenges ahead of having two new faces on the Board, IID’s website states their goal is to “protect the Imperial Valley’s water rights and energy balancing authority.”

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UCSD Detects COVID-19-Causing Virus in Multiple Wastewater Samples on Campus

/in , , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby City News Service

UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla on Tuesday alerted students, faculty and staff that the university’s wastewater monitoring system detected SARS CoV-2 — the virus which causes COVID-19 — in multiple sites on Sunday and Monday.

“Our early detection system identified active virus in the wastewater outflow in the five campus areas from 11 a.m. on Sunday, November 22 to 1 p.m. on Monday, November 23,” Khosla said.

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Padre Dam Named Utility of the Future Today

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Padre Dam Municipal Water District’s leadership in the development of water reuse as well as its strong workplace culture received national recognition with a 2020 Utility of the Future Today award. The award honors substantial excellence in the operation of water sector services.

“We are honored to be recognized as a groundbreaking agency in the area of water reuse,” said Allen Carlisle, Padre Dam general manager and CEO. “This distinction highlights our ongoing commitment to innovative improvements in service of our customers.”

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Here’s What the Water Sector Wants from Congress and President-Elect Biden

/in , , /by /Water Finance & Management

In a letter to President-elect Joe Biden last week, the American Water Works Association urged the incoming administration to prioritize COVID-19 relief for water utilities and investment for the overall water infrastructure sector.

The letter, authored by association president Melissa Elliott, cites AWWA research that revenue shortfalls at U.S. drinking water utilities may reduce economic activity by $32.7 billion and cost 75,000 to 90,000 private-sector jobs. Drinking water utilities are expected to see revenues from customer payments drop by nearly $14 billion, according to AWWA estimates. This is the result of the elimination of water shutoffs for non-payment, increased late payments due to high unemployment, reductions in non-residential water demands, and the addition of fewer new customers due to economic stagnation.

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A Desert City Tries to Save Itself with Rain

/in , , /by /Bloomberg CityLabby Chris Malloy

In an average year, Brad Lancaster can harvest enough rain to meet 95% of his water needs. Roof runoff collected in tanks on his modest lot in Tucson, Arizona — where 100 degree days are common in the summer months — provides what he needs to bathe, cook and drink.

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Sanitary Wipes Suspected Cause of $190K Damage to Water Treatment Plant

/in , , /by /Cornwall Seaway News (Ontario, Canada)by Nick Seebruch

Cornwall City Council approved paying $187,273 from the Wastewater Works Reserve to cover damages to the Waste Water Treatment Plant.

On Saturday, May 16, 2020 alarms notified staff at the WWTP that a traveling bar screen was not operating. The lower screen had been blocked and began to back up, which lead to an excess of 2,000 cubic meters of raw sewage spilling out into the St. Lawrence River.

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Utah’s Water Year So Far, and Why People Should ‘Think Snow’

/in , , /by /Deseret News (Utah)by Amy Joi O'Donoghue

So far this water year that began Oct. 1 has been treating most of Utah like a miserly scrooge, stingy with storms and the accompanying snow. The southern half of the state, as of Monday, was sitting in the 60% of normal accumulation of snowpack, and the Lower Sevier River Basin at 36% of normal is experiencing abysmally dry conditions.

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IID Special Meeting on PLA Gets Testy

/in , /by /Imperial Valley Press by Michael Maresh
One Imperial Irrigation District director Monday morning accused the majority of the board of “ramming” through projects after the board rejected by a 3-2 vote to conduct public workshops on its project labor agreement plan that will be voted on next Tuesday.
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IID Considers Giving Outside Contracts Exclusively to Unions

/in , /by /The Desert Review

The Imperial Irrigation District held a special closed session meeting Friday, November 20, as a discussion to institute Project Labor Agreements for all hired general construction capital projects and outside line work. Trade Councils and IBEW Local 47 are the unions negotiating with the IID. The subject of PLAs has been a contentious one since the October 2019 was voted on and pro-labor directors Norma Galindo and Eric Ortega were chosen as the negotiators with the union and the district.

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Environment Report: Pipeline Plan Takes a Small Step Forward (With Some Drama)

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Things got a little wild at the San Diego County Water Authority meeting last week when its 36 directors argued over whether they should spend more money studying a controversial $5 billion pipeline to the Colorado River.

Outrage after leaders apparently skipped over female directors waiting to add comments during a discussion period sparked some to change their vote on the matter.

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