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Padre Dam Water Board Approves Raise for General Manager

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

The five-member Padre Dam Municipal Water District Board has approved a 4 percent salary increase for its General Manager and CEO Allen Carlisle.

Carlisle, who started with the district in February 2011, saw his annual salary rise to $258,554, effective Dec. 29. The approved new rate is just over $124 hourly. With benefits, Carlisle will earn nearly $368,000 to oversee Padre Dam’s water, wastewater and recycled water, as well as recreation services at Santee Lakes.

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Opinion: Imperial Irrigation District on Path to Boost the Colorado River

/in , , /by /Desert Sun by Henry Martinez

Several weeks ago, the Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors approved a resolution committing the district to doing two things on the Colorado River in the year ahead:

First, that IID will engage with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the broader river community to negotiate a successor agreement to the 2007 Interim Guidelines, which end in 2025. Second, that the district will do nothing to harm the Salton Sea.

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Can You Fight Fires While Saving Water? Long Beach FD System Reclaims Millions of Gallons Per Year

/in , , /by /Long Beach Postby Steven Smith

Until recently, any time Long Beach firefighters practiced using their high-powered hoses, the water they sprayed ended up in the drain.

In any given year, that added up to millions of gallons that washed away during training exercises.

“The old way of doing training was either doing it dry or, if you really wanted to do training while flowing water, that water went directly into the gutter and was completely wasted,” Long Beach Fire Engineer Mike Shrout said.

That changed in 2018 when the Long Beach Fire Department acquired something called a Direct Recycling Apparatus Firefighter Training & Sustainability Unit, or DRAFTS Unit, for short.

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SoCal Sees Turnaround in Water Supply as Reservoirs Reach Historic Levels After Years of Drought

/in , /by /abc 7by Leticia Juarez

Just five years ago, the boat launch at Diamond Valley Lake barely met the water’s edge. Today, the same area is under water thanks to recent rain and snow.

It’s a turnaround that has the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California cautiously optimistic.

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2019 Started and Ended Wet in San Diego; Heat Was Less Persistent

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Robert Krier

Last year came in and went out like a wet lion in San Diego County. In between, it was a relatively tranquil, although not uneventful weather year.

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December Has Been Wet in California, But a Predicted Dry Winter Means Wildfire Danger Could Return Early

/in , /by /KTLA 5 Los Angelesby Erika Martin

Southern California’s wettest December in nearly a decade quashed any danger lingering from destructive wildfires in fall, but experts warn that red flag conditions could return as early as April.

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Vanderlaan Selected as LAFCO Vice-Chair

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

Bonsall resident Andy Vanderlaan will be the vice-chair of San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission for the 2020 LAFCO board meetings.

Vanderlaan, who is the public member on the LAFCO board, was chosen as the LAFCO vice-chair Dec. 2. County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who was LAFCO’s vice-chair for 2019, will be the 2020 chair.

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Drought, What Drought? Largest Snowpack in 4 Years, Most Stored Water in Southern California History Paint Rosy Picture

/in , /by /The Orange County Register by Steve Scauzillo

With snowpack levels in the Sierra Nevada registering at 90% of normal Thursday and state reservoirs at record historic levels, the urban water supply picture for 2020 could hardly be any rosier.

Southern California water managers are trying to restrain their joy, not because of a picture-postcard mountain top, but for the bounty that will come in spring when the snow melts, sending pristine water into state reservoirs and more importantly, southward via the State Water Project aqueduct, a source that supplies 30% of Southern California’s drinking water.

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Helix Water District Taking Entries for High School Scholarship and Photo Contests

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

The Helix Water District has launched two contests for high school students in the East County district’s service area and both contests have a payoff.

The 2020 High School Photo Contest “Water in Everyday Life” offers $150 to the winner, $100 for second place and $50 for third place in both color and black & white categories.

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2019 In Review: Desalination Plans Stalled By Lawsuit

/in , /by /The Beach Report (Hermosa Beach)by David Rosenfeld

Plans to build an ocean desalination plant by West Basin Municipal Water District have been percolating for years.

The past year saw the completion of an Environmental Impact Report for a proposed facility in El Segundo that would generate 20 million gallons of freshwater daily from the salty ocean. Conservationists opposed to the technology say it’s too energy intensive, pollutes the air and water, and would sidetrack ongoing water recycling and replenishment goals. The district, meanwhile, says it’s a prudent measure to ensure water needs are met in times of droughts or emergencies.

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