The City of San Diego’s Public Utilities Department last week took a major step toward completing an innovative project to improve water quality in Lake Hodges. A newly installed oxygenation system, designed by city engineers, will introduce highly oxygenated water to the bottom of the reservoir to reduce the accumulation of excess nutrients and harmful algae growth.
San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District did not have to look far to find its new General Manager. At its Board Meeting on Tuesday, December 17, 2019, after a statewide search for the best candidate to lead the regional water resource agency, Valley District’s Board of Directors announced the selection of Heather Dyer as its new General Manager.
A new rebate program for irrigation devices is available to qualified landscape contractors in San Diego County.
The WaterSmart Contractor Incentive Program, or WSCIP, is designed to help commercial, public and agricultural property owners improve water-use efficiency in large landscapes, through rebates for irrigation hardware upgrades. School districts, universities, and other organizations are also eligible.
On Dec. 16, Carpinteria Valley Water District’s (CVWD) Board of Directors unanimously certified the final environmental impact report (EIR) for the proposed Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project (CAPP) which involves the construction of a new advanced water purification facility, conveyance pipelines and injection wells to treat recycled water.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors is committed to resolving litigation over rates and charges with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. After months of detailed, confidential settlement discussions with best efforts by both parties, no settlement has yet been reached. However, the Water Authority remains optimistic about finding a resolution — all the more so after the Metropolitan board voted on Tuesday to spend $285.6 million in support of the City of San Diego’s Pure Water project.
Two projects underway will enhance fish habitat and water quality at Murray Reservoir.
The reservoir in Mission Trails Regional Park is owned by the City of San Diego and operated by its Public Utilities Department.
“As stewards of the area, it is important for us to improve and enhance the environment in and around Murray Reservoir,” said Shauna Lorance, director of the San Diego Public Utilities Department. “Working closely with state and local agencies allows us to better achieve this goal.”
The San Diego County Water Authority has a program called the Transitional Special Agricultural Water Rate, and the SDCWA will be transitioning the TSAWR into a permanent program.
A unanimous CWA board vote on Nov. 21 approved making the SAWR permanent. An annual review of the SAWR will be conducted in conjunction with other rates and charges and the cost of service process to determine SAWR rates is expected to be completed in spring 2020.
I am Jeff Williams. I have been a water professional since 1974. Since then, I have obtained seven college degrees and have held a water license in two states and a wastewater license in five states including a California V Wastewater License.
Next year would mark a decade of lawsuits by the San Diego County Water Authority challenging the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s uniform rates set by our Board of Directors after many public meetings and hearings. For nearly my entire tenure on the board, SDCWA has been pursuing litigation against Metropolitan. One of my goals as chairwoman is to put this era behind us.
Last weekend a film called “Dark Water” opened in theaters, starring Mark Ruffalo as a corporate man who discovers that his company is responsible for putting bad chemicals into the public water supply. Predictable drama ensues.
The plot of “Dark Water” centers around the harmful human and animal health effects of PFAS and PFOS.
