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Could the Colorado River Compact Adapt to Go With the Flow?

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Jennifer Yachnin

Dwindling flows in the Colorado River Basin are stirring discussions about whether a 100-year-old agreement that governs how that water is divided needs to be overhauled. But there may be another option: don’t rewrite the law, instead reinterpret it.

Despite its status as the cornerstone of the “Law of the River” — the various agreements that dictate how the water is managed between seven basin states and Mexico — some key provisions in the Colorado River Compact remain unsettled.

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East County Breaks Ground on Wastewater Recycling Plant

/in , , /by /KPBSby Thomas Fudge

People wearing business suits and hard hats broke ground Wednesday in Santee for the East County Advanced Water Purification Plant.

It’s part of a plan of four East County water agencies to take wastewater, that’s now treated and dumped in the ocean, and turn it into water that’s clean enough to drink.

The water recycling plant is expected to provide 11.5 million gallons a day of purified wastewater for East County ratepayers.

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Crews Break Ground on $950M Water Purification Plant in East County

/in , /by /NBC 7 San Diego

The East County Advanced Water Purification Program broke ground Wednesday, marking an important milestone for the project, which could purify up to 11.5 million gallons of water per day when it’s completed.

Program representatives, elected officials and water industry leaders gathered Wednesday at the future site of the treatment facility in Santee. The project was approved on May 19 by the East County AWP Joint Powers Authority, which owns and operates the program, and is a collaborative partnership between four agencies: Padre Dam, the city of El Cajon, the county of San Diego and the Helix Water District.

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Work Begins on Recycling Plant to Supply 30% of East County’s Drinking Water

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

The East County Advanced Water Purification Program broke ground Wednesday, marking an important milestone for the project, which could recycle up to 11.5 million gallons of water per day when it’s completed.

Program representatives, elected officials, and water industry leaders gathered Wednesday at the future site of the treatment facility in Santee.

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San Diego County’s Water Supply is in a Good Spot, But it Comes at a Cost

/in , /by /10 News San Diegoby Sophia Hernandez Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Starting Wednesday, residents in much of Southern California will have to limit how much water they use. The Metropolitan Water District declared a water shortage emergency in April and took the unprecedented action of limiting outdoor watering for millions of residents in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernadino counties.

Right now, San Diego County is sitting in a really good spot. The San Diego County Water Authority has worked to diversify where our water supply comes from, like from the new water recycling plant in Santee.

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Access to Silver Strand Shoreline’s Water Closed Due to Sewage Contamination

/in , /by /NBC 7 San Diego

A water contact closure in Imperial Beach has been extended north to the Silver Strand shoreline, county environmental health officials said Monday.

The existing water contact closure area includes the Tijuana Slough and Imperial Beach shorelines, but has been extended to Silver Strand after testing confirmed water quality in that area does not meet state health standards.

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Plan For Success: Create A Plot Plan

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

Any WaterSmart landscape makeover starts with observing and recording your property as it exists today. Think of it as a bird’s eye view or satellite map showing your property’s boundaries and physical features. This becomes the basis of all your planning. You need a few basic tools to draw your own plot plan.

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Choosing the Right Plants and Irrigation Are Crucial to a Water-Saving Landscape

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Before starting your water-saving landscape makeover, there are significant decisions to make, including plant and irrigation choices. First, determine what type of landscape will meet your needs and maximize your water-saving potential.

Eliminating turf is the main target for saving water. Grass requires more water to keep it green than most other plants. In fact, turf needs four times the amount of rain our region gets annually.

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Helix Water District 2022 Student Poster Contest Winners Highlight ‘Water is Life’

/in , , /by /Water News Network

The Helix Water District Board of Directors honored East County student artists for their winning “Water Is Life” posters in an online awards ceremony during its May 2022 board meeting.

Southern California students in kindergarten through eighth grade are invited to participate in their regional water agency’s Student Poster Art Contest to increase awareness about water conservation.

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Wastewater Recycling Made Sewage Valuable. Now East County and San Diego Are Fighting Over It.

/in , /by /Voice of San Diego by MacKenzie Elmer

The city of San Diego pursued its massive wastewater-to-drinking water recycling program, in part, because the federal government said it had to. Millions of gallons of undertreated sewage enters the Pacific Ocean through the city’s aging Point Loma treatment plant on the regular; Pure Water is the region’s first step toward a solution.

But now, a bloc of eastern San Diego County water agencies is building their own recycling project because, they say, the cost of buying imported water from the drought-ravaged Colorado River is unsustainable.

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