Chula Vista resident Paul Rodriguez gave up struggling to maintain his thirsty green lawn in favor of a new landscape design featuring California native plants and shrubs. The Sweetwater Authority Board of Directors selected Rodriguez’s makeover as its 2021 Landscape Makeover winner.
Mount Helix homeowner Rosalie Dosik turned her unused pool into a waterwise backyard oasis and the winning project in the Helix Water District 2021 WaterSmart Landscape Contest. The annual competition recognizes outstanding water-wise residential landscapes based on overall attractiveness, design, efficient irrigation, and appropriate plant selection and maintenance.
The state Senate’s Rules Committee Wednesday approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointment of San Diego attorney Fern M. Steiner to the California Water Commission. Sen. Toni G. Atkins, D-San Diego, who chairs the committee, said Steiner has a record of negotiating major agreements in the public and private sectors.
“As we face another year of drought and the growing impacts of climate change on our water supply, having experienced problem-solvers like Fern on the California Water Commission is more important than ever,” Atkins said in a statement.
Steiner, an employment lawyer, is on the San Diego County Water Authority’s board and serves as a trustee for San Diego Youth Services. Her appointment now goes to the full Senate for confirmation.
The San Diego County Water Authority said Thursday it has adopted a $1.7 billion budget for the next two fiscal years that will keep its spending steady compared with the current budget.
What the agency calls the “all-in” water rate – which is what it charges customers like the city of San Diego – will rise by 3.6% for treated water and 3.3% for untreated water beginning in January.
The San Diego County Water Authority said Thursday it has adopted a $1.7 billion budget for the next two fiscal years and will keep its spending steady compared with the current budget.
What the agency calls the “all-in” water rate — which is what it charges customers like the city of San Diego — will rise by 3.6% for treated water and 3.3% for untreated water in calendar year 2022.
San Diego residents and businesses could see their sewage rates rise four years in a row, starting with a 5% hike in January 2022, under a package of proposed water and sewage rate increases that the City Council’s budget committee send to the full council Wednesday.
The council will hold hearings and vote in September on a package that also includes a water rate increase from the San Diego County Water Authority.
The summer of 2021 could go down as one of the hottest and driest summers in California’s history.
“In Northern California, where we get a lot of our water supply, it has been one of the driest 18 months on record in 120 years,” said Goldy Herbon, a Senior Water Resources Specialist for the San Diego County Water Authority.
Herbon said there is no snowpack in Northern California and the Colorado River is almost down to 60% of its normal water levels.
That’s usually very bad for counties that import a lot of their water. However, Herbon said the San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies like the city of San Diego have invested billions of dollars in infrastructure improvements over the last 30 years that have given San Diego County enough to withstand any potential water restrictions brought on by drought.
The San Diego County Water Authority announced June 21 that the region is protected from drought impacts this summer, and through 2045, despite continued hot and dry conditions.
Statewide drought conditions are highlighting the value of regionally and locally controlled water supplies in San Diego County. No shortages or regional water-use mandates are in the forecast, the result of three decades of strategic investments that create an aquatic safety net for San Diego County’s $253 billion economy and quality of life for 3.3 million residents.
On June 17, the Santa Fe Irrigation District board approved the adoption of a program that will benefit the district’s agricultural water users.
SFID will now allow eligible customers to participate in the San Diego County Water Authority’s Permanent Special Agricultural Water Rate (PSAWR), a program that SFID Director Sandra Johnson said recognizes the value of agriculture by reducing water rates for growers.
The San Elijo Joint Powers Authority’s water reclamation facility near San Elijo Lagoon on Manchester Avenue in Encinitas was named “Plant of the Year” by the California Water Environment Association, the agency announced today.
The award recognizes accomplishments in compliance, innovative practices, cost-effectiveness and superior plant performance amongst wastewater agencies across California.
San Elijo’s medium-sized facility earned the accolade for its commitment to renovating aging infrastructure, collaborating with San Diego State University and utilizing student research, prioritizing staff development and integrating computer modeling into day-to-day operations, according to a recent release.
San Elijo’s medium-sized facility earned the accolade for its commitment to renovating aging infrastructure, collaborating with San Diego State University and utilizing student research, prioritizing staff development and integrating computer modeling into day-to-day operations, according to a recent release.
“What really impressed the judges about the San Elijo submittal was that they scored well in every category,” said Brian Peck, a delegate for the California Water Environment Association, on June 15 when presenting the award to the board of directors.
San Elijo serves Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar and portions of Rancho Santa Fe and can process more than 5 million gallons per day of wastewater and stormwater.
The agency employs advanced treatment technology to produce recycled water for industrial uses and irrigation at golf courses, schools, parks, streets, greenbelts and the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
San Elijo delivers recycled water through several local partnerships, including Olivenhain Municipal Water District, San Dieguito Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District and the City of Del Mar.
(Editor’s note: The Olivenhain Municipal Water District, San Dieguito Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District and the City of Del Mar are four of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
