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War of Words Heats up Over International Efforts to Clean up Border Sewage

Baja California Gov. Jaime Bonilla is involved in a war of words with a California mayor over cleanup efforts along the Tijuana River Valley, which lies between Tijuana and the city of San Diego.

For decades, raw sewage, trash and debris have flowed from south of the border into the U.S.

Most of those materials, especially the raw sewage, end up in the Pacific Ocean, forcing the closure of beaches in cities like Imperial Beach where over the last nine months, beaches have been closed 180 days due to high bacteria levels in the ocean water.

Suez to Improve Rainbow Tank Staircases

Suez Water Technologies and Solutions will install additional tank fall protection improvements at Rainbow Municipal Water District reservoirs.

Rainbow’s board voted 4-1, with Helene Brazier casting the dissenting vote, Aug. 25, to approve a change order to the 2018 contract.

“This adds some additional safety enhancements for our steel reservoirs,” Tom Kennedy, general manager of Rainbow, said.

Water District Directors Named to Ad Hoc Committee Reviewing Proposed CALFIRE Contract

Two members of the Ramona Municipal Water District Board of Directors were recently selected to review the next fire and emergency medical services agreement proposed by Cal Fire.

Oceanside’s Plan to Recycle Water Gets a Boost From the EPA

Oceanside’s major water reclamation project is getting a financial injection from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA is loaning Oceanside nearly $70 million to help finance the city’s water reuse plans. The San Diego County city currently imports most of its water from the Sacramento Bay-Delta and the Colorado River.

The federal loan for the $158 million project will ultimately help Oceanside generate three to five million gallons of drinking water a day.

Oceanside Gets $69 Million Loan for Critically Important Recycled Water Project

Oceanside received a $69 million federal loan Thursday that will pay for almost half of the city’s ambitious drinking water recycling project.

The Pure Water Oceanside project will provide 32% of the city’s water by 2022. It will be the first operating advanced water purification facility in San Diego County, beating San Diego’s considerably larger recycling project.

Conservationists Split Over Poseidon Desal Project’s Potential to Help Bolsa Chica Wetlands

Along a Huntington Beach coastline dotted with oil rigs and a power plant, one of California’s largest remaining saltwater marshes has been a source of pride for local environmentalists.

But the marsh, known as the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, is endangered despite a years-long struggle to pull together sufficient public funding for its upkeep.

Nearby, the Poseidon Water Co., which has been in a decades-long, controversial fight to build a seawater desalination plant next to the AES energy station at the south end of the city, has justified its project partly with a promise to finance the wetlands’ conservation.

County to Open Erosion Control Center in Alpine for Valley Fire Victims

San Diego County will open an erosion control center in Alpine Thursday to help businesses and homeowners prevent debris flows in the areas burned by the Valley Fire.

IID Files Opposition in California Supreme Court Battle With Farmer Michael Abatti

The years-long fight between the Imperial Irrigation District and farmer Michael Abatti over control of Colorado River water could be nearing its grand finale in the California Supreme Court. After Abatti requested last month that the state’s highest judicial body take up his case, the water district filed its opposition on Monday.

Supervisors OK Park Land Purchase, Set Hearing for Valley Center Preserve

San Diego County supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to increase the size of a recreational area in a South Bay community, and set a hearing on a Valley Center preserve addition. The board approved spending $1.07 million on 2.75 acres for the county- owned Otay Valley Regional Park Trail, located on the east side of Heritage Road and south of Main Street in Chula Vista.

Olivenhain Municipal Water District Recycled Water Expansion Project is Project of the Year

Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Recycled Water Pipeline Extension 153A was recognized September 10 as a 2020 Project of the Year by the San Diego and Imperial County Chapter of the American Public Works Association at its virtual awards event. The pipeline extension connected the Surf Cup Sports youth soccer fields in San Diego to OMWD’s recycled water distribution system. By allowing Surf Cup to convert the irrigation of 55 acres of grass fields to recycled water, OMWD has reduced potable water demands for irrigation by up to 100 million gallons per year.