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RMWD Considers Water And Sewer Service Rate Increases

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Julie Gallant Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Proposed water and sewer rate increases for Ramona Municipal Water District customers will be discussed, with possible action taken by the board of directors, at a public hearing set for 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 9, in Ramona Community Center, 434 Aqua Lane. The RMWD last reviewed and adjusted water rates in 2015 and sewer rates in 2017. Rising costs were considered by the RMWD Board of Directors May 14 when they voted 3-0, with directors Jim Hickle and Bryan Wadlington absent, to notify the public of proposed five-year rate increases. The notices to affected property owners are required to be postmarked 45 days in advance of the public hearing under Proposition 218, “The Right to Vote on Taxes Act.”

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SoCalGas, Metropolitan Water District, LADWP Award $578,500 In Rebates To Los Angeles Unified School District For New Commercial Kitchen Equipment

/in , /by /Yahoo!

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas), the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) awarded the Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles Unified) close to $600,000 in energy and water efficiency program rebates.  Los Angeles Unified received $482,500 through SoCalGas’ “Energy Efficiency Rebates for Business” program and $96,000 in rebates from MWD and LADWP through the “SoCalWater$mart” program.  The rebates stemmed from the purchase of nearly 200 new high-efficiency natural gas pressure-less steamers placed in the kitchens at more than 90 Los Angeles Unified schools.  Representatives from SoCalGas, MWD and LADWP presented the rebate checks at the May 28 Board of Education Committee of the Whole meeting.

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Foothills Communities Face Proposed 7% Water Rate Hike

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Lila Seidman

Crescenta Valley Water District’s board of directors have proposed rate increases for both its water and sewer rates. If approved, customers could see their combined monthly bills increase by about $7. On June 11, board members will hold a public hearing about the proposed 7% water rate hike, as well as a 4% increase in sewer, or wastewater, rates, according to Christy Scott, spokeswoman for the water district. If adopted, the new rates will go into effect July 1, impacting the district’s roughly 33,000 customers in La Crescenta, Montrose, and portions of Glendale and La Cañada Flintridge. Under the proposed rates, monthly water bills would increase by an average of $5.32 and monthly sewer service bills would increase by an average of $1.66.

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Major Habitat Restoration Project Set To Move Forward At Salton Sea

/in , /by /Water News Network
The state of California, after resolving key hurdles, is set to move forward on a restoration project at the Salton Sea to improve habitat for migratory birds, while covering more exposed sea bed. When the State Water Resources Control Board last met to discuss the status of the Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP), Chairman E. Joaquin Esquivel called upon the State to resolve issues causing delays in the State’s lead project at the sea—Species Conservation Habitat (SCH). The State did reach resolution on several of the issues in May, and now can move forward with a design-build plan for constructing SCH.
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OPINION: Beware: Stealth Water Tax Hike Still Alive In Legislature

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribune

It’s disgraceful that 1 million residents statewide do not have regular access to safe water supplies — a problem that is concentrated in rural agricultural communities in the Central Valley and Southeast California with little or no water infrastructure. But Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to impose a first-ever tax on water to respond to the problem was never the right answer. The state is running a surplus of more than $20 billion and sitting on billions of dollars in water bonds that state voters approved in 2014 and 2018. Fortunately, the proposal now appears dead. Unfortunately, Assembly Bill 217, by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, is very much alive, having passed two committee votes.

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San Diego’s Latest Backcountry Development To Be Built Where California Suffered One Of Its Most Historic Wildfires

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

It’s not a matter of if but when wildfire will rip through the bucolic countryside being eyed for an opulent master-planned community, known as Adara at Otay Ranch. The chaparral landscape was scorched in 2007 by the historically destructive Harris Fire, and the surrounding area has experienced wildfire every 18 months on average for the last century, according to records from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

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Sewage Flows From Tijuana Completely Shutter Imperial Beach Shoreline

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

A beach closure that has been in place for months for the southern part of the Imperial Beach was extended Sunday to include the city’s entire shoreline. The San Diego County Department of Environment Health issued the order to close the coastline to swimmers as a result of sewage-contaminated runoff in the Tijuana River. Signs warning residents of the contamination will be in place until testing indicates the water is safe for recreational use.

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California Reservoirs Near Capacity In May

/in , /by /Water News Network

It has been a winter – and spring – for the record books, for California reservoirs and ski resorts. And, it’s not over yet. Snow has continued to fall throughout May, with several inches or more in the Sierra Nevada and the southern California mountains. In the lowlands, the City of San Diego has experienced one of its wettest months of May on record. The San Diego National Weather Service reported that Alpine and El Cajon set daily precipitation records on May 23. The normal rainfall at Lindbergh Field during the water year (October 1 – September 30) averages about 10.3 inches. In the current water year, 12.7 inches of rain has been recorded at Lindbergh Field as of May 23.

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A Green Light For Carlsbad Desal Plant Expansion

/in , /by /The Daily Transcriptby Kerry Jackson

With more than 800 miles of coastline and a great big ocean out there, California shouldn’t be always be scrambling for water as if it were in the middle of the Sahara Desert. But politics tend to make goods scarce rather than plentiful. But sometimes there’s good news. Such as a recent report that the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board has issued a permit allowing a permanent seawater intake to be built at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Desalination Plant in Carlsbad. Once fully operable in 2023, the new intake system will supplement the 50 million gallons of “drought-proof” potable water the plant currently pumps out daily, most of it drawn from the Agua Hedionda Lagoon located next to the facility.

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Water Authority Proposes 4.3% Rate Increase To Local Agencies In 2020

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

San Diego County Water Authority staff have proposed a 4.3 percent increase in the cost of treated water in 2020, citing cost increases and continued investment in local supplies. Authority staff said the increase is driven by higher costs for water supplied and transported by the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District, as well as increasing maintenance costs for reservoirs at Lake Hodges and San Vicente, and spending for upgrades to the desalination plant in Carlsbad.

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