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City Reports Significantly Fewer Water and Sewer Spills in Past Year

San Diego is experiencing considerably fewer breaks in water mains and sewer lines thanks to continuing replacement of deteriorating cast iron pipes, according to a year-end report released Wednesday.

A total of 38 water main breaks were reported in the city in 2019, a 38% reduction from the previous year. It was the lowest total in 15 years and far less than the peak of 131 breaks in 2010.

With Signing of USMCA, Help is on the Way for Tijuana Sewage

President Donald Trump signed the renegotiated trade agreement with Mexico and Canada Monday that will replace NAFTA.

The bipartisan deal includes $300 million to help address the frequent sewage spills in Tijuana that contaminate beaches in San Diego’s South Bay.

“It’s a huge win for San Diego and it’s a huge win for our cross-border region,” said San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who attended the signing ceremony outside the White House.

New Inspection Tool Aids Vallecitos Pipeline Assessments

A new pipeline inspection tool being used by contractors working for the Vallecitos Water District to determine pipeline integrity could become a standard tool saving time and money.

After nearly completing construction in 2008, developers walked away from the 500-acre High Point subdivision in the City of Escondido. Water facilities installed for the subdivision were left unused for ten years.

County Water Authority Begins Long-Term Planning Effort

The San Diego County Water Authority last week authorized work on a new Urban Water Management Plan, a document that will guide the region’s approach to maintaining a safe and reliable water supply in the coming years.

Every five years, urban water suppliers in California are required to adopt a management plan, which forecasts the agency’s water demands and evaluates the supplies available to meet those demands under various conditions over the next 20 years.

Poway Water Customers May be Getting Credits

Poway water customers may be in line for small credits on an upcoming bill because the recent six-day boil-water advisory late last year.

Pending the council’s likely approval, the typical residential customer will see a one-time credit of about $28.72 in either March or April, depending on which bimonthly billing cycle the customer is on.

To Prevent Rail Line Collapse, San Diego Area Spends $10 Million To Repair Del Mar Bluffs

The Del Mar bluffs have been plagued by a series of collapses over the last 18 months that have left residents and officials increasingly concerned about the stability of the busy railroad tracks perched atop the cliffs.

Top transportation officials are now gearing up for the largest bluff stabilization effort in nearly a decade. The San Diego Assn. of Governments and North County Transit District have already dedicated roughly $10 million to repair storm water drainage structures, replace parts of sea walls and install additional steel and concrete support columns to hold back the earth.

San Diego Plans to Use Drones, Monitors to Reduce Water Main Breaks, Sewer Spills

San Diego sharply reduced the number of water main breaks and sewer spills across the city last year, saving ratepayers money and helping many neighborhoods avoid significant disruptions.

City officials credited the decreases to ramped-up maintenance and replacement efforts on water mains, sewer lines and pipes, particularly those made of cast iron.

And to further reduce breaks and spills, San Diego officials say they will soon begin using drones and other monitoring devices to look for early warning signs of potential problems.

Atkins Receives Safe Drinking Water Champion Award

California State Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins of San Diego on Monday received the 2019 Safe Drinking Water Champion Award from the California Municipal Utilities Association in Sacramento.

“The award recognizes Senator Atkins’ leadership to work collaboratively with her colleagues in the Senate, Assembly and Governor’s office in securing funding for communities that do not have access to safe drinking water,” said Danielle Blacet-Hyden, CMUA director for water, as she presented Senator Atkins with the award.

There’s No Water Under the Bridge in the Feud That Won’t End

Just days before Christmas, Mayor Kevin Faulconer became the first mayor since Jerry Sanders in 2012 to appear before the 36-member board of the San Diego County Water Authority. The city is the largest member agency of the Water Authority with 10 board members.

Faulconer was there to dip a toe into the decade-long courtroom fight between the Water Authority and Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

UCSD Scientists Will Ride Research Aircraft into Huge Storms to Study Atmospheric Rivers

UC San Diego will send airborne scientists into huge offshore storms to deepen their understanding of ”atmospheric rivers,” the plumes of moisture that can bring nourishing rains, and flooding, to the West Coast.

The second of up to 12 winter weather reconnaissance flights is scheduled to take off from Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento on Tuesday, carrying researchers from NOAA and the Air Force. UCSD will add its own researchers to the trips in about a week.

The university is partnering with the government and military on the project, which is being run out of the UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.