Construction work is underway in several areas of San Diego, building major infrastructure projects for Phase 1 of Pure Water San Diego.
Pipelines, pump stations, and treatment facilities are all being built in the Morena, Bay Park, Clairemont, University City, Miramar, and Scripps Ranch communities. It is a milestone toward the realization of securing a local, drought-resilient water supply for San Diegans for generations to come.
Enhancing the financial literacy of employees at the San Diego County Water Authority was a primary objective when staff submitted a grant application for a portion of $1.4 million in funds available to public employers by the Mission Square Research Institute.
The Water Authority was among 24 public sector employees selected for a grant and received $24,884 to implement its three-year strategic plan to help employees improve their financial wellness.
Pasadena Water and Power Interim General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger on Tuesday stressed the need to increase water rates in the city despite reduced water usage by local residents and businesses complying with conservation efforts in light of current drought conditions in California.
PWP is recommending an increase in water rates by an average of 7.1% on April 1, 2022. A second increase of 7.2% would take effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
The water rate adjustments would help pay for rising costs for purchasing and treating water, and to provide funding for critical improvements to reservoirs, treatment facilities and other water infrastructure.
To address drought conditions, one California region is considering penalizing residents who exceed their “water budget,” a figure based on the property size and the number of residents in a household.
The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) will increase fines on residents who use too much water. It is also considering restricting the flow of water to households that have repeatedly disregarded conservation efforts. The flow restrictors will be reserved for homes that have been fined for overuse for three months or longer.
Officials at Poseidon Water reported Monday the company has received notification from the California Coastal Commission that the application for a coastal development permit for its controversial $1.4-billion water desalination plant will be up for consideration in March.
If it receives approval, Poseidon Water will be able to then negotiate a contract to sell desalinated water to the Orange County Water District and begin construction of the facility.
It is expected to be located adjacent to the AES Huntington Beach Generating Station on Newland Avenue and is proposed to provide 50 million gallons of desalted drinking water a day.
One dozen San Diego County water agencies are looking for the best in landscaping makeover projects for the 2022 regional WaterSmart landscape competition. This annual competition showcases residential water-saving landscaping projects to inform and inspire other homeowners to consider replacing their turf-based yard designs.
The contest deadline for all participating agencies is Friday, May 13.
The water and electrical divisions of the Imperial Irrigation District presented positive and negative reports respectively to the IID Board at the Tuesday, Jan. 18, regular meeting.
IID Water Manager Tina Shields gave a hydrology report about the recent, “nice little snowpack” brought by the recent storm. She said the Bureau of Reclamation had been having operational discussions of moving waters to Lake Powell to keep its water levels from falling below the minimum level necessary for the lake’s Glen Canyon Dam turbines to generate hydroelectricity. The snowpack will keep the water level high enough for the turbines to intake water for producing electricity.
The United States and Mexico disagree on the source of a weeks-long sewage spill at the border, but an investigation into the cause demonstrated what those working on the border already know — the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in San Diego is in desperate need of repair.
As of Friday, U.S. officials at the International Boundary and Water Commission — a binational agency that works on border water treaties — believed the millions of gallons of raw sewage that escaped the border wastewater system earlier this month came from a crack in a big concrete pipe in Mexico called the International Collector, which carries sewage from Tijuana wastewater mains to the U.S. treatment plant. (That pipeline is old and by now has surpassed its useful life, according to a 2019 report by the North American Development Bank.)
Two San Diego-area lawmakers previewed on Monday the local improvements that will come from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year.
Rep. Scott Peters vowed to help San Diego secure significant funding from the $7.5 billion earmarked in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for a national network of chargers for clean electric vehicles.
“The success of this landmark bill depends on focused federal, state, and local coordination to use these funds and ultimately improve San Diegans’ quality of life,” said Peters at a press conference with city and county leaders in Liberty Station.
Pasadena Water and Power will be reporting about the City’s Water Supply and Projected Water Use for the years 2025 through 2040 when they appear Tuesday at a meeting of the City Council’s Municipal Services Committee.
A preliminary PWP report showed the presentation on Tuesday will focus on residential demand and regulatory drivers for water efficiency in new and existing residential projects.
The report, from PWP Interim General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger, said the City continues to draw 30 to 40 percent of its water supply out of local groundwater from the Raymond Basin. The remainder of the water requirement is imported from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD).
