Southern California faces a third consecutive day of rain as another Pacific storm fueled by a conveyor belt of moisture bears down on the West Coast. This round is expected to bring widespread rainfall and the threat of mudslides as more moisture is added to already soaked hillsides in the region’s wildfire burn areas. Residents in parts of Malibu, Burbank, and Ventura and Santa Barbara counties were under evacuation orders.
As rain continues to pelt Southern California, signs of an abundance of or even too much water are everywhere: Roads are flooded, reservoirs are filling and the wait time for Radiator Springs Racers at the damp Disneyland Resort has been less than a half hour. But as residents of burn areas evacuate and even heavier rain is forecast for Thursday, those who watch the state and local water supplies note that while the drought is technically over, the need to conserve water is not.
Board members with local water agencies — often politicians or politically connected people — don’t always bring a lot of relevant expertise to the job. They generally meet no more than a few times a month, basically to bless staff recommendations. They do not have demanding positions. Against this backdrop, the recent 6-1 vote by members of the Sweetwater Authority board to give themselves access to heavily subsidized health insurance for their dependents is a pathetic and cynical act. The authority, which serves 190,000 people in National City, Bonita and parts of Chula Vista, approved significant rate hikes last year despite public criticism of compensation practices that provide authority workers with average salary and benefits of $176,000.
For the second time this week, drenching rains spread across San Diego County during the overnight hours. And it will happen again late this evening and early Thursday, says the National Weather Service. So far, the rainfall has been impressive, in a cumulative sense. Since early Monday, parts of San Diego have received more than two inches of rain, including Palomar Observatory, which got 2.87 inches, Henshaw Dam, which got 2.25 inches, and Julian, which got 2.16 inches. San Onofre received 1.63 inches.
Rising sea levels are not only going to increasingly flood parts of Long Beach, but could leave the most vulnerable neighborhoods uninhabitable within a generation or two, according to a city presentation Monday night that drew more 300 residents concerned about the city’s — and their own — future. “Residents can continue living on Naples and the Peninsula for several decades as long as you’re willing to experience occasional flooding,” said Jerry Schubel, a marine scientist and CEO of the Aquarium of the Pacific. “(But) over the next few decades, you need to think about moving.
The new majority on the Escondido City Council appears poised to rescind the former council’s 2017 decision to locate a $44 million recycled water plant in the middle of a residential area. “It’s the wrong location,” newly elected Mayor Paul “Mac” McNamara said Friday of the site in the center of the city at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Ash Street. ”I’m seriously considering moving it. It’s in the middle of a neighborhood. It’s not the right location. It never was. I totally get it. It might cost us a few more bucks, but in the long term, it’s better to have it where it needs to be.”
There is a massive deadline looming for states that draw water from the Colorado River Basin — Arizona included. If an agreement on water use and conservation isn’t reached by Jan. 31, the federal government can step in and begin to make conservation decisions for the states. We’ve covered this story extensively on The Show with KJZZ’s Bret Jaspers, but now, there is another twist in it — this time out of California.
Home to more than 100,000 solar installations, San Diego is one of the nation’s leaders when it comes to renewable energy. But according to a just-released report, there are many more locations where the sun’s energy can be harnessed. A nonprofit based in Northern California released a “solar siting survey” that identified 500-megawatts of locations with potential for large-scale solar deployments within the city limits of San Diego and pinpointed more than 120 prospective locations that could be home to projects of a minimum of 1-megawatt.
The new majority on the Escondido City Council appears poised to rescind the former council’s 2017 decision to locate a $44 million recycled water plant in the middle of a residential area. “It’s the wrong location,” newly elected Mayor Paul “Mac” McNamara said Friday of the site in the center of the city at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Ash Street. ” I’m seriously considering moving it. It’s in the middle of a neighborhood. It’s not the right location. It never was. I totally get it. It might cost us a few more bucks, but in the long term, it’s better to have it where it needs to be.”
The Colorado River may not look like it, but it’s one of the world’s largest banks. The river is not only the source of much of the American West’s economic productivity – San Diego, Phoenix and Denver would hardly exist without it – but its water is now the central commodity in a complex accounting system used by major farmers and entire states. Now, when talking about the river, water officials across the West use terms like bank, payback and surplus. Often the analogies to finance don’t stop there – they put money behind deals that dictate who gets water and who does not.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
