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OPINION: Faulconer’s Welcome Housing Plan Also Helps With Climate Change

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

In the state Capitol, the response to California’s chronic housing shortage this year has been hugely disappointing. A bold proposal to make it easier to put up new apartment buildings and condos near mass transit and in single-family neighborhoods was abruptly killed last month by Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. State lawmakers continue to focus on subsidized “affordable housing” projects despite the years of evidence that this approach does little or nothing to bring down the high cost of housing in the Golden State.

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Helix Water District Board Approves 2019-20 Budget

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

The Helix Water District governing board last week approved an operating budget of nearly $91 million for the 2019-20 fiscal year that begins July 1. The budget includes $11.5 million in capital improvements to keep the water moving through Helix’s 700-plus miles of pipeline, valves, hydrants and meters, and safely stored in tanks at the district’s various plants around East County. Total costs, including capital expenses and water purchases, will go up by about $1.2 million compared to 2018-19.

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Annual San Diego ‘Quality of Life Dashboard’ Shows Improvements In 6 Categories

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

A respected annual quality of life report for San Diego released Wednesday showed improvements in six areas, but declines in four. The biggest issues in this year’s Quality of Life Dashboard were housing affordability and traffic congestion, though slight increases in water use and landfill waste were also noted. “Commuters in 2018 spent more than eight hours extra on the freeways, nearly an hour more than in 2016,” according to the report.

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Activists Say Grebe Eggs And Chicks Dying At Lake Hodges Due To Water Pumping

/in , /by /CBS 8 (San Diego)by Shannon Handy

Lake Hodges is home to a lot of wildlife including Grebes – the black and white birds that can be seen year-round, but some say their nests are being destroyed over something that’s completely preventable. Brian Caldwell, a nearby resident and operator of Lake Hodges Photo Tours, visits the area often. Over the past couple of years, he has noticed an alarming trend.

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Local Jurisdictions Oppose Plan To Restore Endangered Trout Population, Raise Water Rights Concerns

/in , /by /Santa Maria Sunby Zac Ezzone

An attempt to restore the population of endangered Southern California steelhead trout living in the Santa Ynez River is being opposed by some jurisdictions that rely on the river and Cachuma Lake for their water supply. The number of trout, which travel to and from the ocean throughout their lifecycle, in the river began declining after the construction of Bradbury Dam on Cachuma Lake in 1953. Prior to construction, there were about 20,000 adult fish living in the Santa Ynez River, but with the dam limiting their ability to travel to and from the ocean, the population dropped to 100 adult fish by 1991, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.

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Salt Creek Golf Course Is Now Available To Developers

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gustavo Solis

The Otay Water District plans to offer up the old Salt Creek Golf Course to developers. In May, the district prepared a list of about 40 regional developers it plans to notify about the availability of the 164-acre plot of land off Hunte Parkway just east of State Route 125. The decision to sell to developers comes more than a year since the unprofitable golf course shut down in March 2018, leaving Chula Vista’s golfers with one less place to play. At the time of Salt Creek’s closure, operators owed the Otay Water District more than $21,000 – this was after the district had already reduced their annual rent by roughly $118,000, records show.

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Nestlé Is Still Taking National Forest Water For Its Arrowhead Label, With Feds’ Help

/in , , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson

Nestlé, the world’s largest bottled water company, continues to take millions of gallons of free water from the San Bernardino National Forest two hours east of Los Angeles, 17 months after California regulators told them they had no right to much of what they’d taken in the past. And federal officials are helping them do it, despite concluding Nestlé is drying up springs and streams and damaging a watershed. The company says it is legally entitled to every drop, and is “sustainably collecting water at volumes believed to be in compliance with all laws and permits at this time,” according to emailed responses to questions from The Desert Sun.

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Search Begins For Next General Manager Of San Diego County Water Authority

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

The San Diego County Water Authority has hired an executive search firm and is seeking public input as it begins a search for its next general manager. Longtime general manager Maureen Stapleton retired in March, and acting General Manager Sandy Kerl will lead the agency’s staff during the search process. Los Gatos-based William Avery & Associates has has been hired to lead the search, which will include outreach to civic, business and community stakeholders to help guide the water authority board’s assessment of candidates. “The water authority has had a profound, positive influence on this region over the past 75 years, and it’s crucial that we find a visionary general manager to help write the next chapter of our story,” said Board Chair Jim Madaffer.

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WaterSmart Landscape Contest Winner Named

/in , , /by /The Coast News

The Vista Irrigation District board of directors recognized a customer for her entry in the  WaterSmart Landscape Contest. The annual contest recognizes outstanding water-wise residential landscapes based on the criteria of overall attractiveness, appropriate plant selection, design, appropriate maintenance, and efficient methods of irrigation. Deborah Brandt received the 2019 Best in District award after replacing her water and maintenance intensive lawn with a WaterSmart landscape, saving both water and money. By including contrasting elements, such as cactus, river rock and wood chips, against a backdrop of dramatic magenta, purple and striking orange, Brandt transformed her yard into an array of textures and colors.

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As Water Scarcity Increases, Desalination Plants Are On The Rise

/in , , /by /Yale Environment 360by Jim Robbins

Some 30 miles north of San Diego, along the Pacific Coast, sits the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, the largest effort to turn salt water into fresh water in North America. Each day 100 million gallons of seawater are pushed through semi-permeable membranes to create 50 million gallons of water that is piped to municipal users. Carlsbad, which became fully operational in 2015, creates about 10 percent of the fresh water the 3.1 million people in the region use, at about twice the cost of the other main source of water.

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