Leaders of a planned water recycling project in East County asked a court Tuesday for permission to take control of a pump station from the city of San Diego, escalating a dispute over the future of a plant that could serve hundreds of thousands of people.
Lawyers from the Advanced Water Purification Project submitted a motion in California Superior Court to seize the East Mission Gorge Pump Station.
Once your WaterSmart Living Landscape design starts coming together, pick your plants for each water-use category to ensure you meet your WaterSmart water conservation goals. Focus on local native plants or plants from similar climate regions.
When designing a living, water-saving landscape, you want your new outdoor space to fit your house, your neighborhood, and your lifestyle. Finding that fit begins by asking a few basic questions. First, how do you want to use your space? It’s possible to significantly improve your home’s water efficiency and meet your lifestyle needs at the same time.
When undertaking a water-saving landscape renovation, strive to continuously feed as much organic matter as possible to the landscape soil to keep it healthy. Start with compost and mulch to jump-start the process. Eventually, your plants will feed themselves with their own leaf litter.
Our investments to protect San Diego County from the harsh effects of the worst drought in 1,200 years continue to pay off. Last week, the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors unanimously adopted a resolution reaffirming our commitment to water conservation after we were joined by California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, and many regional leaders to commit to additional water-saving measures that stretch our limited resources.
My sincere thanks go out to Secretary Crowfoot and Mayor Gloria for their leadership, as well as the many other civic and business leaders who joined us to promote the Summer of Water Savings. We are proud to have coordinated regional efforts to maximize San Diego priorities and efficiencies within the San Diego County economy and quality of life.
Edwin McBride decided 20 years in the U.S. Navy wasn’t enough time in the water, so he dove into the SkillBridge Program to intern at the San Diego County Water Authority. The program is helping military veterans transition to career-track training opportunities, including work in the water and wastewater industry.
For Georg Kochi, tearing out his Koreatown lawn has been as much about spiritual growth as water conservation — a deep and sometimes playful exploration into habitat, rebirth and decay on the property where he lived as a boy and returned decades later as a retiree.
The parkway in front of his house in St. Andrews Square, for instance, was full of wildflowers this spring, but the colorful flowers have turned into dry, dirty-blond seed heads and stalks interspersed with clouds of blooming buckwheat, juvenile coastal live oak trees and waves of native grasses.
New but relatively minor restrictions went into place immediately this week with the adoption of a new water shortage declaration unanimously adopted Tuesday night by the Newport Beach City Council.
Automated sprinkler use in Newport Beach is now limited to three days a week, and residents will be asked to decrease their household water usage to where it was in 2020.
The San Diego County Water Authority board approved SDCWA rates and charges for calendar year 2023.
The unanimous board vote June 23 also allocated the pro-rata share of fixed charges to each CWA member agency. The new rates increase the cost per acre-foot from $1,833 to $1,929 for treated water and from $1,523 to $1,584 for untreated supply, although that is an average charge for all 24 CWA member agencies and due to pro-rata shares the cost may be more or less for specific agencies.
With much of the southwestern United States in a persistent drought that is stressing source waters such as the Colorado River and the State Water Project, the Fallbrook Public Utility District is encouraging everyone to do their part and conserve as much water as possible.
Fortunately, in Fallbrook, the situation isn’t dire like in other parts of the state. Local residents and businesses have been cutting back and conserving for years, and the district is now selling about the same amount of water as it did back in the 1950’s, even though Fallbrook’s population has grown significantly since then.
Other parts of the state aren’t as lucky.
“While there are no mandatory restrictions on watering days and times right now, the governor has hinted that if people don’t conserve more across the state, he will require additional mandatory restrictions, so it’s important that we all do what we can to avoid this,” said Jack Bebee, general manager of FPUD.
