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Oceanside Breaks Ground on Water Recycling Project

/in , /by /KNSD-TV (NBC7 San Diego)by Nicole Gomez

The city of Oceanside broke ground Wednesday on a water recycling facility that it says will eventually provide 32%, or one-third, the city’s drinkable water supply.

City and state leaders were at the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility to unveil the plan and discuss the benefits for the city. Oceanside says it needs this facility because the cost of importing water from hundreds of miles away is too expensive. Also, a local aquifer is running out of water.

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First Purewater Plant in San Diego County Breaks Ground in Oceanside

/in , /by /KPBSby Erik Anderson

Oceanside is the first municipality in San Diego County to bring a pure water facility on line.

The city’s utility director Cari Dale officially broke ground the $71 million facility on Wednesday saying the plant will bolster the city’s drinking water supply.

City worker Sara Davis says the plant takes in recycled water, which is clean enough for lawns but not clean enough to drink.

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Oceanside Breaks Ground for Recycling Plant That Will Provide 32% of City’s Water

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Oceanside officially broke ground Wednesday on an innovative water recycling plant that will provide 32% of the city’s water supply in future years.

Although San Diego is working on a similar and larger project, Pure Water Oceanside will be the first operating advanced purification facility in the county.

The plan will use microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light to purify wastewater from the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility, reducing the city’s reliance on water imported from the Colorado River and Sacramento Bay Delta.

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CVWD Offering Rebates for Washing Machines, Hot Water Pumps

/in , , /by /California Water News Daily

Coachella Valley Water District is now offering two new water efficiency rebates for residential customers who install a new high-efficiency washing machine or a hot water recirculating pump in their home.

“We are excited to offer these new programs to our customers to increase their efficiency,” said Katie Evans, Director of Communications and Conservation at CVWD. “Many of our customers have already taken advantage of all of our existing programs and we pleased to offer them another way to reduce their use and help our community reach our sustainability goals.”

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Kern County Water Industry is Ready to Discuss Water Concerns with President Trump

/in , , /by /Bakersfield Now by Jeanette Quezada

Water is essential for survival.

It’s just as true for you and me as it is for the Ag community of Kern County, which depends on water to grow all of its crops.

According to Gene Lundquist, president of the Water Association of Kern County, we use more than two million acre-feet to grow what feeds the entire country.

“We cannot do anything here in Kern County without water,” he said.

Lundquist said most of the water we use is groundwater.

The second-largest source is the state water project water, which comes from the California aqueduct.

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Toxic Waste Still a Problem for El Cajon Neighborhoods

/in , , /by /East County Californianby Albert Fulcher

From 1963 to 1985, aerospace manufacturing company Senior Aerospace Ketema (formerly Am­etek) in El Cajon dumped thousands of pounds of a chemical degreaser into a shallow redwood-lined pit that sat on its property.

This resulted in a toxic groundwater plume of trichloroethylene, which travels through the soil by a process called soil vapor intrusion into the three large mobile home parks surrounding the facility — Greenfield, Starlight and Villa Cajon — as well as Magnolia Elementary School.

This caused related illnesses among residents and students alike. The air in one mobile home at the school had more than twice the amount that triggered an immediate closure of Magnolia El­ementary in the 2015-16 school year due to health concerns. TCE is known to cause a variety of cancers, cause re­productive harm, damage the immune system, and can cause dizziness, headaches, and confusion.

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Water Agencies Team Up to Reduce Potable Water Use

/in , , /by /Water News Network

The Olivenhain Municipal Water District and Leucadia Wastewater District are reducing potable water use by switching to recycled water to flush sewer lines in their service areas.

With the recent installation of new equipment by both agencies, recycled water is now available to Leucadia for sewer line maintenance in the Village Park neighborhood in Encinitas and in the La Costa neighborhood in Carlsbad.

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City of Oceanside to Break Ground on Pure Water Oceanside

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Debbie L. Sklar Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Marking a historic moment for the city of Oceanside and the region, city officials and water industry leaders will break ground on Pure Water Oceanside on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. at the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility. Scheduled to be completed before the end of 2021, Pure Water Oceanside will be on the map as the first operating recycled water project in San Diego County.

Pure Water Oceanside will purify recycled water using state-of-the-art purification technology that replicates and accelerate nature’s natural recycling process to create a new local source of high-quality drinking water that is clean, safe, drought-proof and environmentally sound. Pure Water Oceanside will lead the way in the region in providing a sustainable water supply for its residents, businesses and visitors. Once finished, the project will provide more than 32% of the city of Oceanside’s water supply, or 3-5 million gallons per day.

At the groundbreaking, Congressman Mike Levin, City of Oceanside Water Utilities Director Cari Dale, San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra Kerl, Bureau of Reclamation Area Manager Jack Simes and Metropolitan Water District Special Projects Manager Meena Westford will discuss the many benefits of the project – including reducing dependence on increasingly expensive imported water, safeguarding against drought and ensuring an exceptionally pure drinking water supply is available for future generations.

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Will California Get Another Wildflower Super Bloom? Here’s What the Experts Predict

/in , , /by /The Tribune by Lindsey Holden

A lackluster winter rain season has left much of California on the cusp of a drought — so what does that mean for the state’s much-Instagrammed wildflowers?

Particularly rainy winters yielded super blooms throughout the state in 2017 and 2019, from the Carrizo Plain National Monument in San Luis Obispo County all the way down to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park east of San Diego.

In spring 2019, photo-seeking visitors packed places like Walker Canyon near Lake Elsinore just south of Los Angeles, where a California poppy bloom drew “Disneyland-size crowds.”

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Bacteria at the Water Fountain: How San Diego Scientists Use E. Coli to Test for Toxins in Water

/in , , /by /KPBSby Shalina Chatlani

It’s not always easy to tell if the water you’re drinking is safe. Some ways to check include lab testing and filters. And soon it could include E. coli bacteria. San Diego scientists are developing a new bacteria-based water sensing technology.

At Edison Elementary School in City Heights on a December afternoon, excited school children are grabbing their favorite foods and drinks.

It is well known that what children consume here impacts their brains and bodies. From the teriyaki chicken to the drinking water at the nearby fountain.

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