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Escondido Water Employee Wins Award For Invention

/in , , /by /The Daily Times-Advocate (Escondido, Calif.) Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Escondido Water employee Joseph Lucero won an award from the California Water Environmental Association for his innovative device that  improved efficiencies and safety at the City of Escondido’s Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility. City of Escondido Plant Maintenance Technician Joseph Lucero won third place in the “Gimmicks/Gadgets” category in the 2019 California Water Environmental Association Awards competition. His innovative safety device turns a difficult two-person job working on wastewater pumps into a safer process one person can complete alone.

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Colorful Carlsbad Water-Efficient Garden Wins Olivenhain MWD 2019 Landscape Contest

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Carlsbad residents Melanie and Bob Buck were honored as the 2019 WaterSmart Landscape Contest winners by the Olivenhain Municipal Water District during its July 24 board meeting. Melanie Buck worked to transform her landscape from large grassy areas and pine trees into a colorful, waterwise landscape design. The landscape now requires less than half of the water she once used. Visually stunning, the landscape also includes welcoming entertainment areas. Since installing the award-winning landscape, the Bucks have reduced their outdoor water use. They also benefit from far less expensive maintenance costs. Their home demonstrates the beauty of water-efficient landscapes with its vibrant colors and variety of textures using Bougainvillea, striking cactus, succulents, and California native plants and shrubs.

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County Makes Money Available For Purified Water

/in , /by /The Alpine Sun (Alpine, Calif.)by Joe Naiman

Interim funding for the East County Advanced Water Purification Program has been approved by the San Diego County Sanitation District. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors board members are also the board members of the San Diego County Sanitation District, and on July 10 the county supervisors voted 5-0 to authorize the sanitation district’s $2,350,000 share for the final program development costs. The supervisors also authorized the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to execute the East County Advanced Water Purification Interim Funding Agreement which also involves the Padre Dam Municipal Water District, the Helix Water District, and the City of El Cajon, and the authorization of planning studies was found to be categorically exempt from California Environmental Act review although those studies themselves will likely include environmental review.

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Overcharged DWP Customers Could Get An Additional $50 Million In Refunds, New Lawyers Say

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Emily Alpert Reyes, Dakota Smith

The deal had been touted as a win for aggrieved L.A. ratepayers who had been hit with grossly inflated bills from the Department of Water and Power: A settlement of a class-action lawsuit that would provide refunds or credits for 100% of what they were wrongly charged, according to the utility. One of the attorneys who represented customers who sued the utility called the agreement a “home run.” It was eventually expected to return more than $67 million to ratepayers. Now a new set of attorneys have taken over the case after accusations that lawyers engineered the lawsuit and 2017 settlement to help the city.

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Scrutiny Grows Over Whether Small, South County Water District Can Afford Desalination Plant

/in , , /by /The Orange County Register

The small South Coast Water District has taken key steps toward construction of a $110 million desalination plant, but the agency faces growing questions of whether it’s in over its head for the ambitious project to be built near Doheny State Beach. The project’s ocean-friendly technology has won praise from the same environmentalists fighting a desalter plant proposed by Poseidon Water for Huntington Beach, one of several things that distinguish the south county plant from the more controversial project to the north.

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Water Agencies Help Avoid Tax On Drinking Water

/in , , /by /Water News Network

After years of effort, water agencies across San Diego County and the state have helped to prevent an unprecedented tax on drinking water while ensuring funding for clean water initiatives in disadvantaged communities. On July 24, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that provides $130 million annually for the next 10 years to clean up polluted drinking water, mainly in the Central and Salinas valleys. Over the past three years, several proposals in Sacramento have proposed raising that money with a tax on residential water bills. Water industry groups, including the San Diego County Water Authority and several local retail agencies, were among the broad coalition of water, business and civic interests that opposed the tax.

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Another Hot, Muggy Day With Afternoon Thunderstorms Ahead For San Diego

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

A chance of thunderstorms will persist Thursday in most parts of San Diego County as the mercury continues to rise heading into the weekend. Thunderstorms will be possible in the inland valleys, the deserts and the mountains Thursday afternoon, according to the local office of the National Weather Service. Partly cloudy skies are expected in the coastal areas. The skies are expected to clear throughout the county by Friday morning, meteorologist Jimmy Taeger said. The chance of measurable precipitation has been set at 20 percent Thursday for the inland valleys, the mountains and the deserts, according to the weather service.

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SCV Chamber Joins Californians For Water Security Coalition

/in , /by /Santa Clarita Valley News (Santa Clarita, Calif.)

The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce has joined the Californians for Water Security Coalition to help advocate on behalf of the SCV, which relies on water sourced through the California State Water Project. The state’s current water delivery system faces outdated infrastructure, earthquake hazards, and misallocation issues that put the water security of the Santa Clarita Valley at risk. In Southern California alone, nearly 30 percent of water used by residents comes from this vital delivery system. “California has experienced water scarcity and supporting this coalition and its efforts will help our region advocate for a secure water supply,” said Nancy Starczyk, chair of the Board of the SCV Chamber.

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La Mesa Conservation Garden Wins 2019 Otay Water District WaterSmart Landscape Contest

/in , , /by /Water News Network

La Mesa residents Bob and Shan Cissell’s conversion of 2,500 square feet of thirsty irrigated lawn into a creative conservation garden was selected by the Otay Water District as the winner of its 2019 WaterSmart Landscape Contest. The annual competition recognizes landscape redesign projects among 13 participating San Diego County water agencies which best represent water-efficient landscaping principles. Inspired after their participation in the Water Authority sponsored WaterSmart Landscape Makeover Program courses, and by the Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon, the Cissells began their La Mesa Conservation Garden project in April 2018 by removing the sod. They incorporated creative elements including a hand-built waterfall made from an old truck ladder rack, and other solid materials otherwise destined to become trash in a landfill.

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Volunteers On Horseback Inform Residents On Upgrades To Water System Serving Compton, Willowbrook

/in , /by /ABC7 (Los Angeles)by Amy Powell

COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) — Volunteers on horseback rode down the streets of Compton Sunday, informing residents of upgrades coming to their water supply. Compton’s equestrian community had riders on horseback going around the neighborhood, handing out flyers with information to residents who live in the old Sativa Water District that serves nearly 7,000 residents in Compton and Willowbrook. Phase one for a new water supply begins Monday. As part of ongoing infrastructure repair, the Los Angeles County Public Works Department will make start flushing out the system and make an emergency connection to Liberty Utility, a neighboring water company.

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