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Local Concerns Are Threatening San Diego’s Global Climate Priorities

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Ry Rivard Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Carefully chosen words, tedious negotiations, lines in the sand. At stake: the continued release of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change. But this isn’t diplomacy at the United Nations we’re talking about, it’s San Diego politicians struggling to work together to buy and sell green energy. Last fall, the city of San Diego decided to start its own utility to buy and sell power. That’s because the city’s “climate action plan” says all electricity sold to city residents must come from renewable sources within the next two decades.

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State Tightens Contamination Levels; SCV Water Sets Up Testing

/in , , /by /The Santa Clarita Valley Signalby Jim Holt

SCV Water Agency officials are expected to begin testing their wells for smaller amounts of a non-stick chemical suspected of being carcinogenic, after state officials announced Friday they were lowering the allowable levels set for that chemical. Over the last few months, the State Water Resources Control Board has been trying to figure out what constitutes a safe level for a chemical called PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water, since one of its component chemicals is a suspected carcinogen. Although there are many industrial uses for PFAS, it’s perhaps most commonly known as the non-stick component that went into making Teflon useful in non-stick pans.

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Could A Hurricane Lash Los Angeles? 80 Years Ago, This Deadly Storm Came Close

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

September 1939 was a stormy month on the world stage. On Sept. 1, Hitler invaded Poland. On Sept.3, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand responded by declaring war on Germany. In Los Angeles that month, as residents sweated through an unusual heat wave and nervously watched the storm clouds of World War II gathering overseas, four tropical cyclones that would affect Southern California were born in the eastern North Pacific. No tropical cyclones had made it north of 25 degrees latitude in the northeastern Pacific basin during all of 1937 and 1938.

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Escondido Hires Firm To Plan Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Deborah Sullivan Brennan

Escondido is moving forward on a reverse osmosis treatment facility that will reduce the city’s wastewater and also provide more recycled water for agricultural use. The project will divert millions of gallons of water from the discharge pipeline, and turn it into highly treated irrigation water. It’s expected to begin construction in early 2020 and come online in December, 2021. “This will not only generate a new supply of water to farmers that is economically viable to them, but it also will save our wastewater customers an enormous amount of money,” said Director of Utilities, Christopher McKinney.

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SDPD Warns Of Thieves Posing As City Utility Employees

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Alex Riggins

A pair of thieves posing as city water department employees conned their way into a La Jolla home earlier this month, distracting the elderly homeowner as they stole cash and jewelry, police said Tuesday. The same two men wanted in connection with the scam and theft in La Jolla are also wanted for questioning in a similar incident that occurred nine days prior in the nearby community of Bird Rock, according to San Diego police detective Sgt. Ron Bailiff. Police say the two men identified themselves as being from “the water department” when they knocked on the front door at the La Jolla home around 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 9.

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Craft Beer Industry Economic Impact In San Diego Rises To $1.2 Billion

/in , /by /Water News Network

As the nation’s “Capital of Craft,” San Diego County is home to more than 150 breweries that boast nearly 6,500 local jobs. In 2018, the regional craft beer industry produced $1.2 billion in economic impact, according to a report by California State University San Marcos and the San Diego Brewers Guild. California has more operational craft breweries than any other state in the country. As of January 2019, 155 independent craft brewers were operating in San Diego County. The regional economic benefits generated by the industry would not be possible without the safe and reliable water supply that the San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies deliver to the region every day.

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Irvine Lake Is Rebounding After Seven Years Of Drought Conditions

/in , /by /Orange County Register (Anaheim, Calif.)by Alicia Robinson

What a difference a year – and a whole lot of rain – can make for a reservoir. Irvine Lake was created in 1931 with the completion of the Santiago Dam just west of the Santa Ana Mountains. While it can hold as much as 25,000 acre feet of water (an acre foot is enough to cover a football field at one foot deep), through California’s punishing seven-year drought it often held much less. Just a year ago, the water level was at 2,700 acre feet and large swaths of parched dirt were left exposed….

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Cooling Goo Sidewalks And Other Strange New Weapons In The War On Urban Heat

/in , /by /The Guardian

Los Angeles can sometimes feel like a sprawling hellscape of heat: in the northern valleys and the southern city, metal playground equipment, car steering wheels, even the ground itself effectively become weaponized. The more than 300 days of sunshine a year that for generations have made LA such an attractive place to live and visit are becoming a grave liability due to the climate crisis. The city gets so murderously hot all year-round, its residents routinely suffer heat-related death even in winter. Last summer, city residents in endured some of its highest temperatures ever recorded. Worse is likely to come.

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Center For Chula Vista Students Fosters Learning About Water

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Alexandra Mendoza

Fifth graders now have a space to learn everything about water, from conservation to careers in the water industry. The Hydro Station is an initiative of the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD), the Otay Water District and Sweetwater Authority. This facility consists of a classroom right next to the Richard A. Reynolds desalination plant, which is estimated to receive about 4,500 students every school year. The idea is for children to broaden their career options from an early age and, if they wish, to consider a water-related career.

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Helix Water District, Sweetwater Authority Offer Smart Leak Detector Rebates

/in , /by /Water News Network

The Helix Water District has rolled out a new smart leak detector rebate program. Helix and Sweetwater Authority customers can get a rebate of up to $100 when they purchase a smart leak detector. The detectors sync to smartphones, allowing customers to monitor water use 24/7 via smartphone and the devices notify customers of leaks and water consumption amounts. There are two types of smart leak detectors: plumbed devices and external devices, according to Helix. Plumbed devices are plumbed into your existing water lines. Most of these devices can automatically shut the water off at their point of installation, or allow you to shut your water off remotely, in case of a leak.

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