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New River: Imperial County Looks at Options to Force Action

/in , , /by /Holtville Tribuneby Elizabeth Varin

Imperial County officials are considering suing the federal government over continued inaction at the polluted New River.

Members of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors during their meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 23, discussed potentially suing the United States government or sending a strongly worded “demand” letter to federal officials to try to sway them to take action on building a wastewater treatment facility on the border to help clean the filthy waterway.

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Newsom Pushes Private Seawater Desalting Plant Over Local and Environmental Opposition

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

When Gov. Gavin Newsom was photographed dining at an opulent Napa Valley restaurant during a surge in coronavirus cases, many Californians saw it as hypocrisy. For opponents of a planned $1-billion desalination plant along the Orange County coast, however, the optics were menacing.

The unmasked Newsom was celebrating the birthday of a lobbyist for Poseidon Water, which is close to obtaining final government approval for one of the country’s biggest seawater desalination plants.

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‘Mega-Miracle’ Will Be Needed to Overcome Dry February in Los Angeles

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

February is normally the wettest month of the year in downtown Los Angeles, when 3.8 inches of rain would usually fall. This year, next to nothing has fallen. L.A.’s rainfall to date has been 4.39 inches, less than half of normal for this point, which is 9.71 inches.

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San Diegans, How Much Would You Tax Yourself to Prevent Floods, Boost Water Quality?

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Garrick

San Diego officials plan to spend the next five months analyzing what size tax increase city voters would likely support in November 2022 to pay for projects that boost flood prevention and water quality.

The ballot measure would be the first opportunity for San Diegans to vote to raise taxes on themselves to tackle an estimated $6 billion infrastructure backlog that city officials began calling San Diego’s No. 1 challenge eight years ago.

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Carlsbad Sand Dredging Project Protects Beaches, Water Supply

/in , , /by /10 News (San Diego)by Jonathan Horn

Heavy equipment will dominate a stretch of Carlsbad’s beach near the old Encina Power Plant for the next month.

Crews are funneling thousands of cubic yards of sand per day onto the beach, not only to protect the shoreline, but also the water supply.

Poseidon Water, which runs the desalination plant adjacent to the old power plant is running the project. The desalination plant converts 50 million gallons of ocean water to drinking water per day, providing 10 percent of the region’s water supply.

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Residents’ Climate Anecdotes to Inform San Diego Resilience Plan

/in , , /by /Utility Diveby Maria Rachal

The City of San Diego Planning Department is seeking public feedback as it develops a climate resilience plan focused on preparing for sea level rise, flooding and drought, extreme heat and wildfires — risks backed up by a climate change vulnerability assessment completed early last year. The Climate Resilient SD plan would build on the city’s Climate Action Plan released in 2015.

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Reporter Notebook: Will EPA Fix for Tijuana River Keep Pace with Growth?

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

Reports of Tijuana sewage leaking over the border into the San Diego region stretch back at least to the 1930s. The fundamental issue hasn’t changed all that much over time. Plumbing still isn’t keeping pace with population growth. Water officials in Baja California have frequently pointed out that sewage collection in Tijuana far exceeds that in many parts of Mexico.

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LAFCO Approves Municipal Service Review, Sphere Updates for RCDs

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission approved municipal service reviews for the county’s three resource conservation districts while also updating the sphere of influence for each RCD. Separate 8-0 LAFCO board votes Monday, Feb. 1, approved the municipal service reviews for the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego, the Mission Resource Conservation District and the Upper San Luis Rey Resource Conservation District while approving a sphere of influence update for each RCD which does not alter the sphere boundaries. LAFCO also had a presentation and discussion on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act that morning, although no board action was taken.

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RWQCB Amends Las Pulgas Landfill Waste Discharge Requirements

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Regional Water Quality Control Board amended U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton’s waste discharge requirements for the Las Pulgas Landfill. The 7-0 RWQCB vote Wednesday, Feb. 10, established procedures and technical specifications to remove the existing Phase I unit side slope liner system and to construct the engineered alternative Phase I unit side slope liner system. The revised waste discharge order recognized Marine Corps efforts to implement corrective actions at the landfill and resume waste disposal operations within the Phase I unit.

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Agencies Seek Relief Funds to Cover Delinquent Water Bills

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

Water agencies across the region are seeking help from the County of San Diego and the 18 incorporated cities in the county to provide essential financial relief for households throughout the county that are facing growing water bill delinquencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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