Normally sunny San Diego got more rain than Seattle last month, a reverse of what residents of both West Coast cities have to come to expect.
The National Weather Service recorded just under 3 inches of rain with their monitoring station at Lindbergh Field this November, making it the wettest November on record for San Diego.
Poway officials said Monday they believe backed-up storm drains caused the water contamination that led to the city’s first-ever boil water advisory over the weekend.
The county health department ordered the closing of all restaurants in the city and residents are being advised to boil their tap water before drinking it or using it for cooking, city officials said.
The recent rains caused the storm drains to back up into its water treatment facility, officials said. They added that crews are working around the clock to clean and flush the system, which may take two to five days before the water is declared safe.
A second spot may need repairs after an unusually wet Thanksgiving Day storm closed the railroad tracks at Del Mar for work over the weekend, transit district officials said Monday.
The “area of concern” is less than a block away from the spot fixed Saturday, North County Transit District Executive Director Matt Tucker said Monday in an email to the district’s board of directors.
The additional job needs an engineering design plan before the work is done, and it may wait until January to be included in the next phase of the district’s ongoing bluff stabilization work, Tucker said.
The city of Encinitas has launched a revamped “climate dashboard” website measuring the city’s efforts to implement its Climate Action Plan.
The online platform is designed with community members in mind and is a place where residents can explore the city’s CAP goals and find answers to their questions about the city’s current progress on climate action.
The climate dashboard features key components of the Climate Action Plan such as building efficiency, clean and efficient transportation, off-road equipment (i.e. leaf blowers), renewable energy, carbon sequestration, water efficiency and zero waste.
The precautionary boil-water advisory for the City of Poway continued into it’s third day on Monday afternoon, with the city reporting it has 400,000 bottles of water available for residents.
“The City of Poway is continuing to take corrective action, performing water quality monitoring, and working toward getting this advisory lifted,” the city said in a statement on its website at 11 a.m.
The advisory was issued at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday after a day of reports of discolored water. The County of San Diego separately ordered restaurants and produce shelves to be closed.
Two days after county officials ordered the closure of all businesses serving food in Poway, nearly 200 restaurants and bars remained shuttered Monday, awaiting word from state officials that the water supply was safe and they could reopen.
Meanwhile, residents helped themselves to the 400,000 bottles of water made available by the city, and school officials tapped an outside vendor to feed the thousands of students returning from a holiday break.
City officials announced the possible contamination of Poway’s water supply on Saturday, which led to a boil-water advisory being issued Saturday night and orders from the county’s health department to close all restaurants and bars.
The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors Nov. 21 approved a new and permanent Special Agricultural Water Rate program structure that offers lower water rates to farmers in exchange for lower water supply reliability.
Unlike the current temporary program, the structure of the new water rate program will let new participants join as a way to strengthen the region’s multi-billion-dollar agriculture industry.
A new storm fed by the first atmospheric river of the season is expected bring rain to Northern and Central California beginning Saturday, and cause significant travel delays and hazards for Thanksgiving travelers returning home on Sunday, the National Weather Service said.
Based on predictions of its water vapor transport capacity, this atmospheric river is classified as moderate to strong.
After serving for eight months as the acting general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA), Sandra L. Kerl has been appointed as the new general manager of the water agency following a national search by the SDCWA’s Board of Directors (BOD). The water agency’s BOD approved Kerl’s contract last week during its regular monthly meeting.
A former Public Utilities Department leader has filed a lawsuit against the city of San Diego, claiming officials illegally diverted $1 million in water and wastewater funds to other city services and fired her for refusing to conceal the activity.
Susan LaNier, a former deputy director and internal auditor for the utilities department, was one of five utility leaders the city fired in February, following public outcry over billing errors and accusations of mismanagement within the department.
