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Opinion: Salton Sea Needs Bold Action, Not More Government Studies

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby David Bryant

Regarding the Salton Sea, Henny Youngman might say, “Take the pending disaster of the Salton Sea, please.”

Many in this Valley have never been to the big salty lake. Some of us of us love it, its bizarre creation, and its lumpy history. Photographers come from afar to grab images of the now fading graffiti that marked so many of the ruins bordering the western side of the sea. Not quite the site of an ancient civilization, that territory was home to lots of angry, broke, disoriented, and confident aerosol artists. It was a joy to see a free gallery of “edgy on the edge” of the big body of sometimes stinky water.

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How San Diego County Reservoirs Levels Look Amid California Drought

/in , , /by /CBS 8 (KFMB-TV)by Steve Fiorina Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Reservoirs throughout the west are showing signs of the drought that really turned severe over the winter. There may be records set by the end of this summer as some reservoirs are down near half capacity already.

But is it all bad news? News 8’s Steve Fiorina went in search of answers regarding the status of our San Diego County lakes and reservoirs.

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Welcome to Lithium Valley: One of the World’s Largest Lithium Deposits Is Located at the Salton Sea—and the Potential Economic Ramifications Have Drawn Comparisons to Silicon Valley

/in , , /by /Coachella Valley Independentby Kevin Fitzgerald

The story of Lithium Valley begins in earnest on Sept. 29, 2020. That’s the day when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 1657, sponsored by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, creating a “Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California.” That commission is now called the Lithium Valley Commission. What is this all about? Oh, just the fact that up to 40% of the world’s potential future lithium supply is located under and near the Salton Sea.

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Vintage Water Pipeline Now at Bonita Museum

/in , , /by /Water News Network

A key piece of water infrastructure  – a steel pipe that delivered water to residents of San Diego County –  is now on display at the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center.

Earlier this year, the Sweetwater Authority completed the replacement of its 36-inch transmission main in the Bonita Valley area. Portions of the large critical pipeline were nearing 100-years-old and due to be retired and replaced.

The 36-inch riveted steel pipe played a critical role in delivering water to residents and businesses in the South Bay for nearly a century before it was retired and replaced in 2020.

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Water Awareness Artwork Wins Escondido Student Poster Contest

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Twelve winning student artists from Escondido area elementary schools follow in a long tradition of fourth-graders entering the annual City of Escondido Student Poster Contest. Students were asked to depict the 2021 contest theme “Love Water, Save Water” to illustrate the value of water resources through creative, hand-drawn art.

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Opinion: Another Water War Washes Over the MWD

/in , /by /Pasadena Star-Newsby Rick Cole

In the final scene of “Chinatown,” the noir movie version of Los Angeles’s original water grab, anti-hero Jack Nicholson confronts the brutal triumph of the film’s “pillar of the establishment” villain. The cops don’t want to hear his story.  They invoke the racist trope that the law of the jungle rules in the ethnic enclave where the scene occurs: “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.” The real life water wars continue, however, and it remains to be seen who will win the current power struggle at the Metropolitan Water District.

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Rainbow Approves Lease Agreement for Bonsall Reservoir Site

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Rainbow Municipal Water District’s inactive Bonsall Reservoir is currently being leased for nursery use. Rainbow staff has been evaluating whether the site would be suitable for a photovoltaic energy generation facility but, until a decision is made, Rainbow has been providing agricultural leases.

On May 25, Rainbow’s board voted 5-0 to approve a new two-year lease with nursery operator Don Dabbs. Dabbs will pay $1,683 per month retroactive to Jan. 1, and the lease will run until Dec. 31, 2022. The agreement also has provisions of a potential 12-month renewal term or continuation of the lease on a month-to-month basis should Rainbow proceed on a solar generation facility or choose to sell the property.

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Rainbow MWD Board Approves Heli-Hydrant At Pala Mesa

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Rainbow Municipal Water District will be adding a Heli-Hydrant fire protection system on its Pala Mesa site. A 5-0 Rainbow board vote May 25 added the Heli-Hydrant project to Rainbow’s capital improvement plan, appropriated $149,728 from the district’s capital reserve fund, and authorized Rainbow general manager Tom Kennedy to execute the contracts required to procure and install the equipment.

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Vallecitos Water District Taps Tech for Pipeline Inspection

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Vallecitos Water District is using a specialized camera and sonar to evaluate the condition of a sewer pipeline between San Marcos and Carlsbad.

The Land Outfall West pipeline is a large sewer line that stretches from El Camino Real to the Encina Water Pollution Control Facility in Carlsbad. Originally installed in 1986, an evaluation of the pipeline’s current condition using closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras and sonar will help the District identify and prioritize its ongoing pipeline renewal and maintenance activities.

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Poway Prepares to Overhaul Water System in Wake of 2019 Contamination Crisis

/in , , /by /10 News San Diegoby Jeff Lasky Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Poway is getting close to beginning the long-anticipated overhaul of its water system, following a 2019 crisis when the city’s water supply was contaminated by stormwater.

“It’s the largest capital improvement program the City of Poway has ever undertaken,” Shadi Sami, a city engineer helping oversee the project, told ABC 10News.

Currently, Poway gets its water from one source. Untreated water comes in from the San Diego County Water Authority, gets stored in Lake Poway, then goes to Poway’s water treatment plant and is stored in a clear well, before being distributed to residents and businesses. Following a storm in 2019, a valve that should not have been open allowed contaminated water into that clear well. With no other source of water, residents were under a boil water order for several days.

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