San Diego County’s water world hasn’t had much good news lately, with looming budget problems and whopping rate increases.
Well, here’s some: The state’s new mandatory water conservation plan won’t require big reductions locally. That’s due mostly to decades of spending on recycling, desalination, storage, conservation and imported supplies.
The United States Bureau of Reclamation has recommended a $6 million grant to a coalition of local water and wastewater agencies to develop reused water infrastructure in the region.
If approved by Congress, the North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition will use the funds to support its Regional Recycled Water Program: 2020 Project, which seeks to increase water reuse in the region through expanded recycled water infrastructure.
There’s a new effort to bring a bit of well-deserved recognition to some people who have made a big difference after the major water main break in Calgary.
After volunteering to deliver water to seniors and people with disabilities, Paul Godard set out to collected donated gifts to send to water officials in San Diego. They helped ease Calgary’s crisis by shipping up a couple of massive pipes needed for the repair job.
Despite rising water rates, the city of Carlsbad has opted against prepaying fixed charges to the county’s wholesale water supplier in exchange for discounted rates in 2025.
In late May, the San Diego County Water Authority asked its 23 member agencies, including the Carlsbad Municipal Water District, to consider a prepayment option.
Valley Center Municipal Water District (“VCMWD” or “District”) has a long history of initiating and participating in various programs to assist and sustain agriculture in its services area.
District efforts have been coordinated with funding from the San Diego County Water Authority under its water use efficiency programs through the 1990s, 2000s, and through to today. VCMWD was also instrumental in helping to secure a $1.5 million Regional Conservation Participation Program Grant to fund water efficiency evaluations and access to on-farm improvement funding for our local growers through the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
June, 2024 marked the 70th Anniversary of the election held on June 21, 1954 approving the formation of the Valley Center Municipal Water District, which was made official by the California Secretary of State on July 12, 1954.
Since its formation in 1954, much has happened in the District and the community it serves. The record has been one of early growth and change to meet burgeoning agricultural demands, and then adapting to reflect the ever-changing character of its service area to one of mixed agricultural, commercial, and residential water uses.
San Diego plans to pay an engineering firm $100 million over the next decade to thoroughly evaluate the city’s aging dams and create a strategy to prioritize and coordinate repairs and possible rebuild projects.
The strategic plan will include proposals to shore up every dam, including cost estimates and specific timelines. It will also evaluate safety risks and how much each dam upgrade would boost reservoir capacity.
San Diego water rates will go up by 5.2%. This increase, approved by the City Council last September, includes a 1.8% charge from the San Diego County Water Authority to cover higher costs of imported water and other services.
The rate hike will help fund essential upgrades to the city’s water infrastructure, such as replacing old pipelines and supporting projects like Pure Water San Diego, which aims to ensure a reliable water supply.
It’s about to heat up in San Diego County, with hot temperatures expected to linger for a bit.
The National Weather Service said a slight cooldown is anticipated for Monday, though short-lived as a warming trend sets in for the week of the Fourth of July holiday. The heat will be most felt away from the coast as high pressure moves into the region.
After hours of debate, San Diego’s water importer (because the region has to buy most of its water from outside the county) decided to raise rates just a smidgen – and put off the doom-iest part of its proposed water price spike until next month.
Why? Well, a lot of local water district representatives (there are 33) weren’t comfortable with how the city of San Diego (the region’s biggest and most powerful water buyer) wanted to try and stave off bigger rate increases. And the city, which has the power to ram through anything it wants, hit the pause button instead.
