Anyone who’s driven past the Encina Power Station, a coastal Carlsbad landmark since the 1950s, can’t miss the changes in recent weeks.
Demolition of the old power plant is finally underway. Scaffolding lines the seaward side of the boxy concrete building, and there’s more at the top of its distinctive 400-foot-tall smokestack.
The Los Angeles region will be warm, dry and breezy next week, with a significant cool-down next weekend, the National Weather Service said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s temperature outlook favors below-normal temperatures for much of the West from Nov. 6 to 10.
San Diego County crews began construction Friday on a $11.2 million project intended to rejuvenate and improve Lakeside’s popular Lindo Lake County Park. Improvements at the 55-acre park will include a new fishing pier and birdwatching stations, hundreds of native trees and improved water quality in the lake’s east basin by removing more than 200,000 tons of sediment — enough to cover nearly five football fields 12 feet high — which has accrued for decades.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials Friday announced the beginning of the environmental review process of a project that would control water flow from Grant Lake Reservoir in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains.
DWP officials said the undertaking of a new spillway gate structure to control flow from the lake through Rush Creek and into Mono Lake will be one of the largest environmental restoration projects in the Mono Basin.
For the third time in five years, Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Pump/Motor Technician Dominic “Bruno” Brunozzi has been named the California Water Environment Association’s “Mechanical Technician of the Year.” Brunozzi was recognized for his dedication to public service and mechanical expertise. He also received the same designation at the local level earlier this year from CWEA’s San Diego Section.
The Board of Supervisors Wednesday unanimously approved a draft version of a North County region conservation plan. A final draft of the plan is expected for board consideration by 2024 or 2025. Supervisors voted to receive the revised North County Multiple Species Conservation Plan, which according to the Parks and Recreation Department would provide the greatest environmental benefits.
One of Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte’s most famous paintings depicts a tobacco pipe with cursive script below it reading, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe,” which translated from French means, “This is not a pipe.”
For the third consecutive year, the Water News Network was recognized as the Best Public Service/Consumer Advocacy Website for its public outreach and education by the San Diego Press Club. The website was established by the San Diego County Water Authority to bridge the gap in news coverage of water-related issues affecting the region. The first place award was announced during the San Diego Press Club’s 47th annual Excellence in Journalism Awards event, which was live streamed from the San Diego Automotive Museum on October 27.
San Diego researchers are getting a better understanding of the storm systems that bring the region most of its rain and they are getting that information the old fashion way — from weather balloons. Last March, gray rain-filled skies seemed to dip into the ocean as a storm moved across the region.
The City of San Diego’s Pure Water Demonstration Facility public tour is now available as a virtual tour. A new video provides an up-close look at the technology behind the water purification plant. In-person tours are on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and will resume once it is safe to do so. Since opening in June 2011, nearly 19,000 people have toured the one-million-gallon-per-day facility in person.
