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Putting a Price on the Protective Power of Wetlands

/in , , /by /PHYS.orgby University of California, San Diego

In coastal communities prone to hurricanes and tropical storms, people typically turn to engineered solutions for protection: levees, sea walls and the like. But a natural buffer in the form of wetlands may be the more cost-effective solution, according to new research from the University of California San Diego.

In the most comprehensive study of its sort to date, UC San Diego economists show that U.S. counties with more wetlands experienced substantially less property damage from hurricanes and tropical storms over a recent 20-year period than those with fewer wetlands.

Pipeline Project: Completed or to be Continued?

/in , , /by /Ramona Sentinel by Julie Gallant

A large water pipe repair effort may have gone bust, at least temporarily, at the project site near Rangeland and Highland Valley roads. The project is intended to install new pipe under the Santa Maria Creek to connect to an existing pipe after it broke last year.

The Ramona Municipal Water District (RMWD) awarded the contract to Capriati Construction Corp. of Henderson, Nev., with unanimous approval of the district’s board of directors on March 12, 2019. The contract bid was $348,915.

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UC San Diego — A Leader in Climate Research — Under Pressure to Slash its Greenhouse Gases

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

Bigger wildfires. Stronger storms. Longer droughts.

For years, UC San Diego has been out front in forecasting the impact of climate change, earning the school international praise.

But the campus also is hearing a blunt, new message: Do more to help fix the problem. Start by slashing the 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide UCSD puts into the air each year. And act quickly.

The message comes from a UCSD faculty task force which is proposing changes that could affect everything from how the school generates energy and the courses it offers to how often faculty can travel and the foods students are offered in campus dining halls.

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Vallecitos Water District Employee Leads By Example With WaterSmart Landscaping Makeover

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

Vallecitos Water District Development Services Coordinator Eileen Koonce transformed the front yard at her new home into a beautiful water-efficient design with help from the San Diego County Water Authority’s Landscape Makeover Program.

As a new homeowner, when Koonce received her first water bill, she decided to figure out a way to reduce her water bill and her water usage. She realized the thirsty lawn covering the front yard had to go.

“As an employee of the District, we are always talking to customers about how they can reduce water use in their landscape, and what better time to put that theme to use than in my own yard,” said Koonce.

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San Diego Water Authority Dismisses Some Claims in Suit Against Metropolitan Water

/in , , /by /City News Service Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Friday applauded the dismissal of several legal claims stemming from lawsuits filed by the San Diego County Water Authority over water rates and charges, which could end a decade-long legal battle between the agencies.

The Water Authority voted Thursday to dismiss some claims in its lawsuits, which the Water Authority said would allow the parties to avoid a trial scheduled for June. The water authority filed several lawsuits regarding water rates and charges set by MWD and paid by water authority customers spanning from 2010 to 2018.

The resolution was at least partially brought on by the MWD Board of Directors’ approval of more than $350 million in “Water Stewardship Rate” benefits for the San Diego region late last year.

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California’s Winter: Wet Times, Dry Times and Water Supplies

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby Ed Joyce Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

After a wet and snowy start, California’s winter has gone bust. The 2019-2020 water year started off with robust precipitation, after a series of storms in November and early December 2019.

But the new year has not been as bountiful. Dry conditions in January and February added little to the Sierra Nevada snowpack.

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Oceanside Receives Second $1.5M Grant to Aid $19.5M Smart Water Meter Project

/in , /by /NBC7 San Diegoby Sophia McCullough

The City of Oceanside received its second $1.5 million award from a federal agency to aid its new smart water meter installation project, the city announced.

The city is in phase two of a three-phase project to replace all 45,000 existing water meters with advanced metering infrastructure smart meters, confirmed Lindsay Leahy, Principal Engineer for the project.

In total, all three phases will cost an estimated $19.5 million — the cost of phase two is about $4.5 million, Leahy said.

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Contractors Get Reprieve in Effort to Block San Diego’s Pure Water Recycling System

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

SAN DIEGO — Legal wrangling over San Diego’s proposed Pure Water sewage recycling system continued Friday, when a judge gave a temporary reprieve to a group of local contractors fighting for the ability of non-union workers to help build the system.

Superior Court Judge Richard Strauss gave the contractors two weeks to strengthen their case, that construction of the system should be blocked because of a dispute over the use of non-union workers to build some of it.

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MWD Grants SDG&E Permanent Easement in Pala

/in , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California granted San Diego Gas and Electric an permanent easement on MWD property in Pala.

The MWD board vote Feb. 11 approves the granting of the easement including conditions. SDG&E will obtain a 12-foot wide easement along the northern edge of the MWD property in the 39000 block of Pala Temecula Road.

MWD’s Pipeline 6 currently conveys water from Lake Skinner to Anza Road at De Portola Road in Temecula. That 7-mile segment is considered the northern reach of Pipeline 6; the southern reach would extend from Anza Road at De Portola Road to the San Diego County Water Authority delivery point approximately 6 miles south of the Riverside County line.

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Water Authority Board Votes to Dismiss Certain Legal Claims Against MWD

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

After securing more than $350 million in “Water Stewardship Rate” benefits for the San Diego region, the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors today voted to dismiss certain related claims against the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

The Water Authority Board’s decision represents a major step toward resolving the litigation, which has been pending for more than 10 years. The suits challenged water rates and charges imposed by MWD on San Diego County agencies and their ratepayers from 2010-2018. The Water Authority’s Board action will allow the parties to avoid a trial scheduled for June 2020 and clear the way for judgment to be entered in the older cases.

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