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Evacuation Orders Lifted in Escondido After Lithium-Ion Battery Fire at SDG&E Facility that also Prompted School Closures

/in , /by /NBC 7by Eric S. Page and Danielle Smith

Thousands of people in Escondido are affected by an incessant fire that sparked Thursday at SDG&E’s Northeast Operations Center, a lithium-ion battery energy storage facility.

The blaze sparked just after noon and is burning in the 500 block of Enterprise Street, just a few blocks from where Interstate 15 intersects with state Route 78 and quickly prompted evacuations of more than 500 businesses and 1,500 SDG&E customer homes, according to the electricity agency.

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Escondido Water Recycling Facility will Offset Restrictions that Often Come During Droughts

/in , /by /NBC 7by Brooke Martell

Water use restrictions are usually the first sign of severe drought conditions in California, but a new recycled water treatment facility in Escondido set to go online early next year could help offset those restrictions for the local farming communities.

What’s unique about the new plant is that when drought conditions develop, local farmers with avocado and citrus groves won’t have to cut back on their water use.

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East County Advanced Water Program Joint Powers Authority Issues Green Bonds: $433 Million in Tax-Exempt Interim Notes

/in , /by /East County Magazine

The East County Advanced Water Purification Joint Powers Authority (Authority) plans to issue approximately $433,235,000 in tax exempt, fixed rate notes on September 4, 2024. The Notes are being issued to finance, on an interim basis, a portion of the design, construction, and development costs of the East County Advanced Water Purification (AWP) Project.

The Notes are special, limited obligations of the Authority payable solely from Net Revenues of the Authority, and, if needed, other funds held by the Authority. The East County AWP Project is currently estimated to cost $950 million. The Authority has secured two low interest loans – a $378 million, 0.8% SRF Loan with the State Water Resources Control Board and a $388 million, 1.95% WIFIA loan with the Environmental Protection Agency.

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This Water Treatment Startup is Already a Unicorn, and Has $225 Million in VC Funding

/in , /by /NBC 7by Diana Olick

While it might seem like humans and animals consume most of the world’s water, heavy industry uses up to half of it. That’s why business sectors are looking for new ways to recycle water, especially in the face of increased drought.

Some of the world’s most essential industries, like pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, textiles, mining, renewables and power all use huge amounts of water. Now, new companies are finding ways to reclaim and recycle water as inexpensively as possible.

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Poway City Council Paves Way for 300-Megawatt Battery Energy Storage System

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Julie Gallant

The Poway City Council has approved the construction of a 300-megawatt battery energy storage system facility on 10 acres in the Poway Business Park.

The proposed Nighthawk Energy Storage Project will help the local power grid capture solar and wind energy, then store the power in batteries and discharge it when needed most, said Josh Coon, vice president of development for the owner of the facility, Arevon Energy.

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Border Report: Tijuana Looks to Quench Its Thirst with Recycled Water

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Sandra Dibble

For more than 15 years, a pair of sewage treatment plants in eastern Tijuana have presented an opportunity – and a challenge.

The plants, Arturo Herrera and La Morita, raised hopes for a major wastewater reuse effort in the city – for irrigation, construction and industrial use. U.S. and Mexican authorities celebrated their opening, saying the effort would benefit both sides of the border.

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City of San Diego Fixing Break in 36-Inch Water Main off Black Mountain

/in , /by /CBS8by David Gotfredson

The City of San Diego is repairing a major leak in a 36-inch water main off Black Mountain in Rancho Peñasquitos.

City workers had to bring in heavy equipment to dig down and locate the break in the water transmission line of Carmel Valley Road.

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Authority Hosts Women in Water

/in , /by /The Star Newsby Albert Fulcher

Sweetwater Authority held its San Diego Women in Water meeting at is Robert A. Perdue Water Treatment Plant on Aug. 14. Co-sponsored by the Authority, Otay Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District, and Olivenhain Municipal Water District, the event brought more than 150 water professionals and elected officials together to share ideas and connect with industry professionals.

Guest speaker Dr. Maria-Elana Giner, P.E., shared her career journey that led her to be appointed by President Joe Biden as Commissioner of the United States International Boundary Commission in 2021. Giner is the second woman, and first Latina, to hold this position. Attendees were also provided with an in-depth tour of the Authority’s treatment facility, given and insider-look at the agency’s operations.

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BLOG: How Did Water Authority’s Unicorn Become an Endangered Species?

/in , /by /SoCal Water Warsby John Earl

Shortly after the California Coastal Commission’s stunning rejection of Poseidon Water’s $1.4 billion ocean desalination plant proposal for Huntington Beach, Poseidon’s long—time VP of development, Scott Maloni, quipped on Facebook about the “unjust decision,” which put an end to big ocean desal in California for the foreseeable future.

“The silver lining,” he wrote, “San Diego has a water unicorn. The Carlsbad Desalination Plant is a one-of-a-kind treasure that will never be replicated again in the state of California.”

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Repairing a Critical Calgary Feeder Main Line After a Catastrophic Failure

/in , /by /ES&E Magazineby David Nesseth Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

While the process of paving over underground repairs and refilling the feeder main line brought a collective sigh of relief in Calgary, critical water quality tests loomed as workers focused on the finish line in the dwindling days of June.

The more than three-week ordeal of repairing the nearly 50-year-old, 11 kilometre-long, two-metre diameter feeder main was a significant challenge for Calgary’s Water Services Director, Nancy Mackay, her team, and other municipal departments, not to mention the city’s 1.6 million residents.

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