Hot, dry conditions and intense winds across California are threatening to reinvigorate what has already been the worst fire season in state history, officials warned on Tuesday. Gusty winds in California’s north and extreme heat in its south are creating conditions that could fan wildfires that began earlier in the summer as well as spark new ones, leading state and federal authorities to urge residents to prepare.
The San Diego County chapter of the Surfrider Foundation announced a new water quality monitoring lab in Carlsbad Tuesday, as well as three new water quality testing sites along beaches in North County.
It’s that time of the year in California, when water managers, climatologists and meteorologists look at the factors that determine what the winter will bring during Water Year 2020-21 (October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021).
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said that La Niña conditions are present in the tropical Pacific, “with an approximately 85% chance of La Niña lasting through the winter.” Forecasters currently think this La Niña will be on the stronger side. For California, those conditions typically mean a drier winter, with increasingly dry conditions heading into 2021.
The San Diego County Water Authority will host an online public information session on Oct. 27 about economic considerations related to the proposed Regional Conveyance System. The virtual event will run from 10 a.m. to noon.
If San Diego’s urban core were a human heart, then the 53rd Congressional District would be, geographically, its left ventricle. The political battle to represent its people is one between two liberals: former environmental justice advocate and San Diego City Council President Georgette Gómez and Sara Jacobs, the granddaughter of a Qualcomm co-founder who also chairs a childhood poverty organization called San Diego for Every Child.
Right now, it’s just a huge hole in the hills off Ortega Highway in San Juan Capistrano. Really huge, as it’s designed to hold 1.6 billion gallons of water.
It’s still dry as dirt, but promises to be a central component of future water supplies for the 165,000 people served by the Santa Margarita Water District. While the district currently imports 100% of its drinking water from the Colorado River and northern California, the new Trampas Canyon Reservoir is part of a plan to generate 30% of potable water supplies locally and to recycle more wastewater.
The Sweetwater Authority and the Otay Water District collaborated with multiple agencies during the recent Valley Fire in San Diego County. Water infrastructure played a key role in the firefighting effort.
Cooperation and collaboration are critical elements during wildfires. Both water agencies worked with multiple responders, including U.S. Forest Service firefighters, CALFIRE and SDG&E, to ensure the safety of crews and keep a safe, reliable water supply flowing for their customers.
Unforeseen conditions caused a change order to the Fallbrook Public Utility District contract to replace the pipeline along Winter Haven Road, but it was the only change order needed in the contract to replace approximately 2,570 feet of pipeline.
The Rainbow Municipal Water District approved a contract to install a reservoir mixing system in the Morro Reservoir.
Helene Brazier did not participate in the Sept. 22 board meeting, when the other four board members gave support to the contract with CPC Systems Inc. The contract will be for $232,998 and CPC Systems, which is based in Irwindale, will install nine Kasco mixers with an option to install three more Kasco mixers.
Customers know when they need clean drinking water, they simply have to turn on the tap. At Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, we take pride in ensuring customers don’t have to worry about the safety or reliability of their water.
