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Escondido Incubator Could Revive North County’s Ag Industry. UC Could Be Partner

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joe Tash

A vacant, city-owned industrial building could become a hub for new businesses in the field of agricultural technology under a proposal now being explored by Escondido officials.

The idea is to turn the empty building at 455 N. Quince St. — most recently used as a mattress factory and warehouse — into an incubator where researchers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists could come together to hatch new companies that would serve North County’s agriculture industry.

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Opinion: The Feds Can Curb a Foolish California Water Giveaway

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Editorial Board

About 15 miles north of Fresno sits Millerton Lake, a reservoir created in the 1930s when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation built Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River. The dam provides irrigation water for fields and groves in much of the San Joaquin Valley, but it wiped out the Chinook salmon migration that had existed on the river for tens of thousands of years.

It also threatened the rights of landowners to divert naturally flowing San Joaquin River water for their fields. Instead of losing their rights, though, farmers who had land near the river agreed to trade their water to the federal dam project in exchange for “substitute water,” delivered to them from the Sacramento River.

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“Shutdown Season” for Regional Aqueducts in San Diego County

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Sections of the regional aqueducts in San Diego County will be shut down over the next six months for maintenance projects to ensure a safe and reliable water supply for the region. The San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies are coordinating on the annual “shutdown season” to minimize impacts to residents and businesses, who are not expected to face service disruptions.

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Los Angeles is Running Out of Water, and Time. Are Leaders Willing to Act?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

On a clear afternoon recently, Mayor Eric Garcetti looked down at the Hollywood Reservoir from 1,200 feet in the air.

“It’s as low as I can ever remember it being,” Garcetti said of the reservoir from the back seat of a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power helicopter. “You can see the bathtub ring.”

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San Diego is Rainier Than Seattle? Can That Be True? Lately, the Answer Has Been Yes

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

The National Weather Service in Seattle posted a graphic this week that contains a startling fact. Since July 1, Seattle, a city synonymous with rain, has been drier than San Diego, a city synonymous with clear, dry skies.

From July 1 to Oct. 9, San Diego recorded 0.65 inches of rain. Seattle, 1,250 miles to the north, had only 0.48 inches.

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Key Vote for Doheny Desalination Plant Coming Thursday

/in , , /by /The Orange County Register by Brooke Staggs

The California Coastal Commission is slated to vote Thursday on a crucial permit for a project that would draw ocean water through the sand off the coast of Dana Point, purify it and use it to help bolster water supplies for communities throughout Southern California.

A dozen desalination plants are permitted to turn ocean water into drinking water in California today, from as far south as Carlsbad to as far north as Monterey Bay. A year ago, three new desalination projects were pending in Southern California alone. But only one still remains viable: the Doheny Ocean Desalination Plant, which is being developed by South Coast Water District.

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Opinion: Climate Change Forces California to Make Long-Term Adjustments, Immediate Water Cuts

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens

Internationally, the polar bear may be the climate-change canary in a coal mine.

Locally, it could be the avocado.

The fruit so identified with San Diego County agriculture has been on the decline for years. Severe weather, water availability and rising water prices — at least in part attributed to climate change — have reduced the yield of the crop and the revenue it generates.

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San Diego’s Avocado Production Plummets. Growers Cite Drought, Heatwaves

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Avocado growers in San Diego County are facing tough times as a result of the soaring cost of water coupled with ongoing drought and heatwaves.

The crop generated just $82.8 million throughout the region last year, down from $152.9 million in 2020, according to the county’s annual crop report. It was the first time the fruit generated less than $100 million a year since 1996.

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San Clemente Council Approves Letter of Support for South Coast Water’s Desalination Plant

/in , , /by /Dana Point Timesby C. Jayden Smith

As the South Coast Water District prepares to present its proposed desalination plant to the California Coastal Commission next week, the San Clemente City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night, Oct. 4, to publicly back the project.

The council will send a pre-written letter of support to the Coastal Commission, which will consider on Oct. 13 whether to approve SCWD’s application to construct the proposed Doheny Ocean Desalination Plant.

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San Diego County Has New Top Crop as Agricultural Value Reaches $1.75 Billion

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

For the first time in 12 years, San Diego County has a new top crop, while agricultural value exceeded $1.75 billion, according to the county’s Crop Report released Wednesday.

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