You are now in Media Coverage San Diego County category.

IID Adds $10 million to Pay for On-Farm Conserved Water

/in , /by /The Desert Reviewby Betty Miller Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Hoping to alleviate a perennial tug-of-war between the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Directors and farmers on timely payments for conserved water, the IID voted to provide revenue certainty to the On-Farm Efficiency Conservation Program (OFECP) by approving $310.50/AF payment rate for all the 2023 conservation and authorize a budget amendment to increase the 2023 budget by $9.936 million at the regular meeting Tuesday, June 6.

The IID had agreed to a single payment rate not to exceed the $310.50/AF, and this would prorate the fixed budget of $41,399,800 to create at least 133,333 AF of conserved water, back in November 2022.

All is done to comply with the QSA that requires the IID to furnish San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) with 200,000 AF a year. The complaints the farmers have had with the IID was expending capital upfront to conserve water either through leveling, sprinkler, pump backs, drip, or tile, and then waiting months, or more than a year to get paid for the conserved water. Unfortunately, some of the costs never were reimbursed if paperwork requirements or water conserved did not meet the pre-set standards.
Full Story

These Two San Diego Reservoirs Are Almost 100% Full

/in , /by /Fox 5 San Diegoby Amber Coakley

Two reservoirs in San Diego County are almost 100% full, according to data released Monday. The City of San Diego updated its water levels information page on June 5, showing the Barrett Reservoir in Jamul and the Lower Otay Reservoir in Chula Vista are both over 96% filled. At its max capacity, the Barrett Reservoir would have a depth of 160.40 feet. The most recent measurements show it’s 96.5% full, according to the city.

Full Story

LAFCO Votes to Table FPUD/RMWD Detachment

/in , /by /Village News Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Just before 4 p.m. on June 5, the San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) voted 5 to 3 to table the vote on the FPUD/RMWD detachment from San Diego Water Authority until their Aug. 7, 2023 meeting.

County Supervisor and LAFCO Director Jim Desmond made a motion for an “option 2” for detachment. Director Willis seconded the motion and then Director Jo Mackenzie asked for a 5-minute break. Upon returning, Director Joel Anderson motioned for the vote to be tabled for 60 days.

Full Story

Padre Dam Board Tells CWA It Can’t Accept Any Water Rate Increase

/in , /by /East County Magazineby Mike Allen Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Padre Dam Water District’s board is fed up with having to pay higher rates for the water it purchases from the San Diego County Water Authority, and voted unanimously not to go along with any rate hike unless the CWA gets serious about its long-range planning.

The five-member board took the vote after listening to a presentation by CEO Kyle Swanson (photo, right)about CWA raising the wholesale rate charged to member water agencies next year by a range between 8.2 to 12.7 percent. At one point, CWA was considering increasing to about 13 percent, but the range is ever-changing and unknowable at the current time, Swanson said.

Full Story

Water Awareness Artwork Wins Escondido 2023 Student Poster Contest

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Twelve students have won the 2023 City of Escondido Student Poster Contest by illustrating the theme, “Love Water, Save Water.”

Winners have the opportunity to have their work featured in a regional North San Diego County water agencies calendar. First, second, and third-place winners will be featured in next year’s regional calendar.

Full Story

These Southern California Water Projects Received Millions in Grant Funding to Combat Drought, Floods

/in , , /by /KTLA 5by Travis Schlepp

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Thursday that 44 statewide drought and flood projects will receive millions of dollars in Department of Water Resources grants.

In total, $217 million will be directed to increase water supply, combat flooding, and expand new water storage and conservation initiatives. An additional $71 million will be used to respond to local drought impacts.

Full Story

Commissioners Discuss Hikes to Long Beach Water Rates; Vote Expected June 22

/in , , /by /Long Beach Postby Jason Ruiz

Long Beach Utilities commissioners met again Thursday to discuss a potential rate hike for water, which could be as high as 10% next year as the department deals with declining sales due to customer conservation, increasing costs and an expanding capital investment plan that could, in the long term, increase the city’s supply of less expensive groundwater.

A staff-recommended hike of 10% for water rates next year would amount to a $5.69 monthly increase for the average customer, according to the department. However, an alternate increase of 9% that was requested at the commission’s last meeting would add about $5.13 to the monthly bill.

Full Story

Imperial Beach Seeks Federal Assistance in Ceasing Ongoing Pollution from Tijuana River Sewage Spill

/in , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Karla Rendon

Imperial Beach urgently needs federal funding to put an end to the Tijuana River’s ongoing sewage spill that’s kept portions of the city’s beaches closed, Mayor Paloma Aguirre wrote in a letter to the White House.

Seeking a federal state of emergency status for the continued pollution, Mayor Aguirre called on the Biden administration to declare the emergency for the shoreline of Imperial Beach and the Tijuana River Valley. Such a proclamation would expedite funding and projects across federal agencies to tackle the source of the issue.

Full Story

As Salton Sea Shrinks, Potential for Earthquakes Reduced, New Study Finds

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Debbie Sklar

The shrinking and drying out of the Salton Sea has reduced stress on the San Andreas Fault, possibly reducing the frequency and severity of earthquakes in Southern California, according to research from San Diego State University and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, found that the reduced stress on the fault from a significantly lesser amount of water may be delaying the next “big one.”

Full Story

Military Moves to Clean Chemicals Out of Well Water on Camp Pendleton

/in , /by /KPBS FM/TVby Andrew Dyer

Officials at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton are bringing two new water filtration facilities online by the end of the year to address so-called “forever chemicals” in base drinking water.

Per- and poly fluoroalkyl substances, or “PFAS,” are a family of man-made compounds used for more than 70 years in all manner of consumer products. Non-stick cookware, stain-wicking clothing and even fast food wrappers are just some of the many items in everyday use worldwide containing the compounds.

Full Story