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San Diego County Water Authority Marks 75 Years Of Service That Shaped The Region

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribune Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

No roadside marker notes its historic significance, but a rural hilltop just off state Route 76 near Fallbrook is where the story of modern San Diego County begins. A few feet underground is a gravity-flow pipeline delivering water from the Colorado River through Lake Skinner in Riverside County, then to San Vicente Reservoir near Lakeside. South of the hilltop connection is where the San Diego County Water Authority takes ownership of the region’s historic Pipeline 1, along with four other major concrete and steel veins that send water coursing to cities and water agencies throughout the San Diego region.

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Column: Officials Respond To Concerns About Grebe Nests

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Ernie Cowan Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Concerns by conservation and wildlife groups about the destruction of grebe nests at Lake Hodges because of fluctuating water levels has caught the attention of water managers and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The issue was raised last week in a letter to the city of San Diego, owner of the water storage reservoir just south of Escondido. Recent changes in water levels at the reservoir have resulted in as many as 300 grebe eggs being destroyed because adult birds could not reach the nests after water levels suddenly dropped. Brian Caldwell lives adjacent to Lake Hodges and operates Lake Hodges Photo Tours. He was one of the first to sound the alarm about nests being destroyed.

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Trump EPA Releases Blueprint For Stemming Tijuana River Pollution That Routinely Fouls San Diego Beaches

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

Shorelines in South Bay San Diego will never be fully immune from the sewage and chemical pollution that flows north from Mexico over the border through canyons and the Tijuana River. However, beach closures triggered by contaminated stormwater and Tijuana’s leaky sewer system can be dramatically reduced — from more than a hundred days a year to perhaps a just few dozen. That was the message last week from President Trump’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which released the most comprehensive blueprint to date for addressing water pollution that fouls shorelines in Imperial Beach more than a third of the year on average.

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Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve Celebrates Decade Of Outdoor Education

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Residents, volunteers, and officials gathered June 1 at the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve in Escondido to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Interpretive Center honoring Susan J. Varty. Located at OMWD’s Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve, the center was constructed as a centerpiece of environmental education through a cooperative effort between OMWD and the Escondido Creek Conservancy. “As we celebrate ten years of operation, we couldn’t be more proud of what we have accomplished by working together,” said OMWD Board Secretary Robert Kephart. “Yet, without the dedicated support of docents and donors, this one-of-a-kind facility with its many successful education programs would not have been possible. We also honor their efforts today.”

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Fixes Could Finally Be Coming For Mexico’s Cross-Border Sewage Spills

/in , , /by /KPBSby Erik Anderson

Local officials plan to huddle over the next few weeks to pick a strategy to control the region’s cross-border pollution problem. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer was the first local politician to say he is ready to take action to stop the cross-border pollution flows.He told a gathering of stakeholders who met in Coronado that he wants local officials to commit to a solution and to get underway. Faulconer asked that the solution be comprehensive and come with a price tag.

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Massive Ladybug Swarm Over San Diego, SoCal Shows Up On Radar

/in , /by /KOMO News

A huge blob that appeared on the National Weather Service’s radar wasn’t a rain cloud, but a massive swarm of ladybugs over Southern California. Meteorologist Joe Dandrea says the array of bugs appeared to be about 80 miles wide as it flew over San Diego on Tuesday. But Dandrea tells the Los Angeles Times that the ladybugs are actually spread throughout the sky, flying at between 5,000 and 9,000 feet, with the most concentrated group about 10 miles wide.

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County Receives State Grant to Control Smelly, Invasive Weed

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Debbie L. Sklar

San Diego County has received a two-year grant of $53,966 from the state Department of Food and Agriculture to contain an invasive weed species, county officials announced Wednesday. Ward’s weed has been found in Carlsbad, Del Mar, Otay Mesa and Camp Pendleton, in the only known infestations in North America, according to county officials. The weed is native to the Mediterranean and southwest Asia and threatens local fragile plant species and habitats by dispersing thousands of seeds.

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Local Leaders Meet With Feds About Tijuana Sewage Spills

/in , /by /Fox 5by Maria Arcega -Dunn

Local leaders and representatives of several federal agencies met Wednesday to look for a solution to the ongoing sewage spills contaminating the Tijuana River Valley and the shoreline from Imperial Beach to Coronado. Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection met with elected leaders from San Diego County, the Port of San Diego and the cities of San Diego, Coronado, Imperial Beach and Chula Vista.

 

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San Diego Grown Photo Contest Highlights Agriculture

/in , /by /Water News Network

More than 260 photos were submitted during May as part of the “San Diego Grown Photo Contest” highlighting how safe and reliable water supplies fuel the region’s thriving agriculture industry. The San Diego County Water Authority hosted the social media contest during Water Awareness Month. The contest highlights the significance of agriculture to the regional economy. As one of the nation’s top producers of avocados, ornamental trees and shrubs, flowers, succulents, lemons, and other agricultural products, San Diego County farms cover approximately 250,000 acres and generate $4.8 billion in total annual economic activity.

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Two North County Districts Contemplating Exit From The San Diego County Water Authority

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby J. Harry Jones Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Two water districts in northern San Diego County are exploring the possibility of leaving the San Diego County Water Authority and buying their water instead from an agency in southern Riverside County, a move one district says could save it as much as $6 million annually. It is the first time in the Water Authority’s 75-year history that such a move has been considered by any of its 24 member agencies, officials say, and it likely would be challenged. Both the Rainbow Municipal Water District and the Fallbrook Public Utility Department have been discussing the move for several months. A lawyer for the Water Authority read a public statement at the authority’s most recent board meeting on May 23, making it public knowledge.

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