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Seed Libraries are Sprouting Across San Diego County

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Caron Golden

Say the word “library,” and your word association is likely “books.” But across the country, including in San Diego, many libraries also lend other important items, including seeds for home gardens.

Many of these “seed libraries“ aren’t actually conventional libraries: They may be a service organized by neighborhoods, schools or other kinds of organizations. The common factor is that they are all a free community resource that offers locals the opportunity to grow everything from fruits and vegetables to flowers and native plants. All they ask is that patrons return the “borrowed” seeds by way of harvesting new seeds from the grown plants.

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VOSD Podcast: The Solution to Pollution is Not Dilution

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Andrea Lopez-Villafaña

The city of San Diego has embarked in a multibillion dollar effort to recycle its wastewater into drinking water. It’s a project years in the making, but officials expect to complete the first phase in 2027.

This week on the podcast, Voice of San Diego’s social media pro Bella Ross recaps what she learned on a recent tour of the new facility. And she gets into why people don’t want to drink the recycled water — but also why they need to get over it.

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Coachella Valley Residents Struggle to Breathe as Polluting Dust Increases

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

Outside her home in Riverside County, near the north shore of the Salton Sea, Sara Renteria is struggling to breathe. She has to speak in short sentences, and pauses often to take a breath.

When she was diagnosed with asthma as an adult about five years ago, Renteria said her doctor gave her a choice: Leave her home in the Coachella Valley or take an array of medications to treat her condition. It was the air, he told her, that worsened her asthma.

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Water Districts Sue City of San Diego Over Lake Hodges Dam Maintenance

/in , /by /CBS8by David Gotfredson

Two local water districts have filed a lawsuit in North County court alleging the city of San Diego failed for years to maintain the Lake Hodges Dam.

The water districts allege they have lost $21 million due to the release of water from Lake Hodges in recent months.

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Dr. Harold Bailey Wins Prestigious Award From Water for People

/in , /by /East County Magazineby Miriam Raftery

Water for People, a global nonprofit, has presented its prestigious Kenneth J. Miller Founder’s Award for outstanding service to La Mesa resident Harold E. Bailey, Ph.D., P.E.  A registered civil engineer and former university instructor, Dr. Bailey has an impressive record of accomplishments for numerous local water-related organizations and agencies spanning more than four decades.

“As a past chair of the San Diego Water for People(link is external) Committee who continues volunteering numerous hours serving on multiple event committees, and who has been a strong and consistent supporter of Water for People for over 15 years,” the organization’s award recommendation letter states, “Harold Bailey exemplifies outstanding service to Water for People’s mission of bringing clean water and sanitation to `everyone, forever’; he is well deserving of the Miller award.”

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Border Report: Rosarito Desal Plant Could Finally Get off the Ground

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

As water shortages loom in Baja California, the state’s plans for a desalination plant are back on track after years of delay.

An undeveloped 50-acre plot next to a power plant in northern Rosarito Beach – envisioned as the site of the proposed desalination facility – is now in Mexican government hands. By the end of the year, the state of Baja California expects to invite prospective developers to submit bids.

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Calgary Honours Men who Helped Get Replacement Pipe at White Hatting Ceremony

/in , /by /CTV Newsby Melissa Gilligan Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The two men who helped Calgary get a replacement pipe to help repair the city’s ruptured feeder main were honoured over the weekend.

When the pipe broke in June, city officials put out an international call for replacements. On Sunday, City of Calgary worker Toby Weickert and San Diego County Water Authority worker Martin Coghill both received white hats for their efforts.

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We’re About to Drink Toilet Water. Why That’s a Good and Safe Thing to Do.

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

Try driving up Morena Boulevard in Mission Valley, or north through Bay Park and Clairemont, and chances are you’ll be bottlenecked by an army of orange traffic cones demarking a huge construction project that will consume northern San Diego for years to come.

The city of San Diego is currently building a massive wastewater-to-drinking water recycling system – but it must tear up the streets to do it. The new pipe route tunnels from Morena Pump Station near the San Diego International Airport, then 10 miles north to University City and then another 8 miles to Miramar Reservoir, the final stop for all our transformed toilet water.

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Santa Fe Irrigation Sues City over Lake Hodges Dam Maintenance

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Billing

The Santa Fe Irrigation District and San Dieguito Water District have filed a lawsuit against the City of San Diego over alleged “negligent” maintenance on the Lake Hodges Dam. The aging dam underwent emergency repairs in 2022 and the districts’ suit seeks financial damages of $21 million due to breach of contract and resulting loss of access to local water which they say has forced them to raise water rates, negatively impacting customers.

The lawsuit also alleges a violation of California’s Public Records Act, according to a press release issued by the district.

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