Just a few days after it was revealed that emergency state legislation is being prepared to save the city’s massive Pure Water project from being derailed over a fight over union-friendly agreements, it looks like similar labor fights could upend local cities’ plans to form a government-run energy utility.
The San Diego City Council Tuesday unanimously approved an update to the Mission Valley Community Plan that calls for increased mixed-use development that is pedestrian-friendly and helps residents make better use of public transit.
The update will be applied to the original community plan, which the council first approved in 1985 and has amended more than 20 times since. According to city officials, the update was necessitated to plan for future growth in the area and bring the Mission Valley plan into compliance with the city’s current General Plan and its Climate Action Plan.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on Tuesday, Sept. 10, approved $5 million for a stormwater pilot project to determine the best and most efficient way to capture the tens of billions of gallons of rainwater that flow off roofs and pavement each year.
“A lot of hope has been placed in the potential of stormwater as a local water supply for Southern California,” said Metropolitan Chairwoman Gloria Gray. “We want to better understand that potential, and its cost, as part of our commitment to developing local resources.”
The Citizens Water Academy helps educate civic leaders and many graduates have gone on to become water agency board members in San Diego County.
The application and nomination period remains open for the Fall 2019 class of the San Diego County Water Authority’s pioneering Citizens Water Academy.
The closing date is September 16. More than 700 people have completed the award-winning program since 2014.
The Citizens Water Academy provides an opportunity for emerging civic leaders to learn about visionary local efforts to ensure a safe and reliable water supply for the San Diego region. Participants get an in-depth look at how the Water Authority helps the region’s economy and quality of life through strategic planning, innovative programs, and cost-effective investments.
The U.S. EPA today released a draft plan to advance water reuse nationally at the WateReuse Association Symposium in San Diego.
The National Water Reuse Action Plan identifies 46 proposed actions organized around 10 strategic objectives, including leadership and collaboration, to support the implementation of water reuse.
“Forty states anticipate experiencing fresh water shortages in certain regions within their borders over the next decade,” said David Ross, EPA’s assistant administrator for water. “Diversifying our nation’s water portfolio must be a nationwide priority, and water reuse has the potential to ensure the viability of our water economy for generations to come.”
Suez has begun to adjust the acidity of its water and increase the amount of an anti-corrosion chemical, in the company’s latest effort to lower the amount of lead leaching into some Bergen and Hudson county residents’ drinking water.
It is the first time the company has changed the chemistry of its water since lead levels shot up to 18.3 parts per billion in the second half of 2018, exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 15-parts-per-billion threshold for action.
In my last blog I emphasized both the imperative and the opportunities for ‘growing water’ on irrigated farms in water-scarce regions. As I come across more real-world examples from my research, I’ll share them through this blog (and please share your own stories).
I recently became aware of an analysis conducted by the Yuma County Agriculture Water Coalition that discusses the water-saving efforts of farmers in the far southwestern corner of Arizona.
Yuma County is one of the hottest and driest regions of the US, and it is also one of the most agriculturally productive.
When the iconic domes of San Onofre’s nuclear reactors are finally demolished, “significant amounts of foundation, footings, and other existing material” are expected to remain, unseen, beneath the bluff on the ocean — at least until its stranded nuclear waste finds another home.
In October, the California Coastal Commission will consider Southern California Edison’s application to remove large portions of the above- and below-grade elements of the silent twin reactors, along with associated infrastructure, and cover what’s left with backfill.
That above-ground demolition work is scheduled to be completed within the next decade — but Edison wants to leave the below-ground structures in place until the waste is finally moved.
A representative from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday evening updated San Diego residents on the EPA’s efforts to reduce transboundary pollution in the water between Mexico and the United States.
Local nonprofit Citizens’ Oversight organized the informal meeting at Balboa Park, where the public had the opportunity to ask questions and share concerns.
“It was interesting to us because we live here in California, we care about the bay, we hear about the ocean and we also care about Imperial Beach because we go there a lot and we have property down there,” said San Diego resident Ray Carruthers.
