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C-Win: Big Tunnel, Big Taxes: Newsom’s Gigantic Water Project Would Spike Property Taxes

/in , /by /Maven's Notebookby Tom Stokely and Max Gomberg
Rising costs are squeezing Californians. Groceries, rent, gas—everything—are on a skyward trajectory. And now, water costs are adding to the affordability crisis. In San Diego, cumulative drinking water and wastewater rates are going up 93%. Other communities across the state are not far behind. But the worst could be yet to come.
Governor Newsom has been pushing to build a $60-$100 billion tunnel to deliver more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Kern County agriculture and Southern California cities. However, the tunnel would likely end up as a “stranded asset”—a capital investment with no chance of fulfilling its goals or justifying its costs. It would fail to provide water during dry periods, and its deliveries would lack demand in wet years. Moreover, if this mega-project gets approved, it will be financed by bonds supported both by water rates and by spikes in property taxes for most Californians.
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Betterfleet to Power EV Charge Management at Helix Water District’s Electric Vehicle Depot

/in , /by /Clean Truckingby Jay Traugott

BetterFleet has announced it’s been selected by Helix Water District in San Diego, California to provide its proprietary Charge Management System (CMS) as part of the District’s broader effort to transition to a zero-emission fleet. The system will support the development of what is expected to be one of the most advanced electric vehicle charging depots operated by a U.S. water utility.

The project includes the deployment of 87 high-power DC charging dispensers powered by electricity from San Diego Gas & Electric and managed through BetterFleet’s EV fleet operations SaaS platform. The software will centrally control the charging infrastructure and coordinate vehicle dispatch, functioning as the primary operational layer for the depot.

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Cheaper Recycled Water Is Coming. But Your Water Bill Will Still Go Up. Here’s Why.

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Lucas Robinson Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Three communities – San Diego, Oceanside and parts of East County – are entering the era of recycled water, at a crucial moment for local water politics. How that gets sorted out will be reflected in San Diegans’ water bills.

A decade ago, amid worries about the impact of drought on water supplies, those San Diego municipalities turned to recycled water, that is, turning sewage into drinking water. One local city, Carlsbad, also has a desalination plant, which turns seawater into drinking water.

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SDSU’s One Water Lab Brings Real-Time River Water Research to the San Diego River

/in , /by /CBS 8 by Vanessa Paz

A groundbreaking water research facility is taking shape along the San Diego River, giving scientists access to something they’ve never had before: real water, in real time.

The project, called the One Water Lab, is being developed by San Diego State University, steps from the river itself. Unlike traditional labs confined to classrooms, this facility is designed to study water exactly where it flows, bringing research out into the environment it’s meant to protect.

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As Deadline Approaches, Colorado River Stewards Debate How to Share Water

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Scott Franz

It’s crunch time for negotiators from California and six other Western states trying to strike a deal before Feb. 14 on how to share the dwindling Colorado River. But four days of talks in a Salt Lake City conference room earlier this month did not appear to have sparked a breakthrough.

“We got tired of each other,” Utah’s negotiator, Gene Shawcroft, said last week at a public board meeting, days after the meeting ended. “And two of the days, we made some progress, but one day we went backwards almost as much progress as we made in two and a half days.”

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The Region’s Three Sewage Recycling Systems, Prompted by Drought, Will Soon Go Online

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Garrick

Because leaders across this drought-afflicted region all embraced the same innovative idea a decade ago, three separate sewage recycling systems will soon come online in Oceanside, East County and San Diego.

While drought was the main motivator for spending millions to purify sewage into drinking water, local leaders were also spurred by increasing costs for imported water and long-term concerns about the Colorado River.

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Valley Center Municipal Water District Water Shutdown Does Not Affect Residential Use

/in , /by /Valley RoadRunner

Temporary Agricultural Water Restrictions During San Diego Aqueduct Shutdown January 24 through February 3.

Valley Center Municipal Water District directly contacted affected customers. If you were not directly contacted, you are likely not affected.

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Poway Approves Water Rate Hikes Totaling Almost 26% Over the Next Five Years

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Julie Gallant Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Poway residents will be paying more for water after the City Council’s Jan. 20 approval of a 9.9% rate increase this year, with another 4% hike each year for the next four years. Additionally, the cost of recycled water is increasing by 23% this year and wastewater costs are scheduled to rise by 3% each year from 2028 through 2030, according to a staff report.

The 2026 rate increases started with the Jan. 21 water bills, said the city’s Director of Finance Craig Schmollinger. The average customer is expected to pay $24.22 per month more, or $48.43 more per bimonthly billing period for water.

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Water District Considers Elimination of Fluoride

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Barbara Henry

The Olivenhain Municipal Water District board of directors is considering seeking state permission to stop putting fluoride into its water supply.

Board members will discuss the proposal at their regular monthly meeting, which is set for 4 p.m. today at the district’s offices at 1966 Olivenhain Road. OMWD covers a 48-square-mile area and serves about 87,000 customers in Encinitas, Carlsbad, San Diego, Solana Beach and neighboring communities, the district’s website said. The district has been adding fluoride into its water supply since 2013, a staff report produced for the meeting said. Like other fluoridation efforts around the nation, OMWD’s Community Water Fluoridation program has been controversial.

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Watersmart Makeover: A Welcome to Wildlife

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Caron Golden

What kind of yard does a wildlife biologist create for herself and her family? For Shea O’Keefe, the 2025 WaterSmart Landscape Contest winner for San Dieguito Water District, it’s a yard that has a thoughtful connection to nature.

O’Keefe, a wildlife biologist who does restoration on working lands (think farmland, rangeland and forest land whose owners want to do something for wildlife) for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has gradually created her own miniature version of a wildlife preserve in the suburbs of Encinitas.

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