You are now in Home Headline Media Coverage San Diego County category.

Helix, Padre Dam Water District Workers Back From Paradise

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

Six East County water district employees are now back home after spending a week in Paradise, helping the Paradise Irrigation District clear pipes of potential toxins and bring clean water to the town that was nearly wiped out in November’s Camp Fire.

Helix Water District employees John Wilson, Dan Baker, Eric Hughes and Bryan Watte, and Padre Dam Municipal Water District workers Austin Darley and Jesse Knowles worked in the the Butte County town in Northern California outside of Chico starting Aug. 19. They were part of a mutual aid agreement requested by the Paradise Irrigation District.

Full Story

Local Businesses Could Be Eligible For A Climate-Friendly Car

/in , /by /Fox 5 San Diego

The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District will host a workshop Tuesday for a program to help mitigate the use of high-polluting vehicles around the county.

The APCDs “Clean Air for All” campaign will allow businesses, nonprofits and government organizations to replace their high-emission vehicles with more climate-friendly options. County Supervisors Nathan Fletcher and Greg Cox announced the program earlier this month.

Full Story

Salton Sea Odor Advisory Extended Again. Relief May Come On Wednesday

/in , /by /Desert Sun (Palm Springs)

An odor advisory issued last week for the Coachella Valley to elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide that smell like rotten eggs was extended again on Monday, this time for another two days.

It is now set to expire Wednesday afternoon.

The advisory had already been extended three times since Aug. 18 due to the stench emanating from a sparsely populated area immediately downwind from the Salton Sea.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued the advisory after detecting hydrogen sulfide concentrations at 239 parts per billion, exceeding the state standard of 30 parts per billion.

Full Story

Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors Welcomes Compton City Councilwoman Tana McCoy

/in , /by /California Water News Daily

Compton City Councilwoman Tana L. McCoy has been appointed to the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California Board of Directors as the city’s representative to the 38-member board. She succeeds Janna Zurita, who served on Metropolitan’s board since November 2015. In seating McCoy on the board MWD Board Chairwoman Gloria Gray said, “I welcome Tana McCoy to the board and I look forward to working with her.” McCoy has a lengthy history of public service. Prior to accepting a unanimous appointment to represent Compton’s District 3 on the City Council McCoy had been a 40-year city employee before retiring in 2016. She was elected in the city council 2017 for a full term.

Full Story

FPUD Considering Affiliating With EMWD Rather Than CWA

/in , /by /Fallbrook and Bonsall Village Newsby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Fallbrook Public Utility District has been part of the San Diego County Water Authority since SDCWA was formed in 1944, but FPUD is now investigating the possibility of detaching from the CWA and becoming part of the Eastern Municipal Water District. FPUD general manager Jack Bebee gave a presentation on the possibility at FPUD’s July 22 board meeting. “We just provided an update on the process and where we stand,” Bebee said. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the CWA began delivering water to San Diego County in 1947. MWD’s San Diego Aqueduct conveys water to a delivery point 6 miles south of the Riverside County line.

Full Story

CWA Pipeline Repairs Completed Under Budget

/in , , /by /Fallbrook and Bonsall Village Newsby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority repairs to Pipeline 5 were completed under budget. The SDCWA board approved a notice of completion July 25, which releases the remaining funds to the contractor. Although J.F. Shea Construction, Inc., bid the project at $25,304,375, the Walnut-based company was able to work with CWA staff to reduce the cost and the final cost of the work was $24,748,135.61. “The project was completed on time and within budget,” said CWA senior construction manager Gary Olvera. The CWA has an asset management program which uses both an acoustic fiberoptic monitoring system as well as internal inspections during aqueduct shutdowns to detect and monitor deterioration of CWA aqueduct facilities.

Full Story

City Approves Framework For Potential Water Transfer Agreement With SMWD

/in , /by /The Capistrano Dispatch (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)by Shawn Raymundo

The city’s plans to annex its utilities department took another step forward Tuesday, Aug. 20, as councilmembers approved a framework that will be the basis for a potential agreement to have Santa Margarita Water District take over water and sewer services in San Juan Capistrano. With Councilmember Derek Reeve absent from the meeting, the council unanimously voted in favor of certifying the Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the major deal points of what will eventually be part of an official annexation agreement and application for approval by the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).

Full Story

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.

Full Story

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.

Full Story

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.

Full Story