When residents in De Luz were forced to evacuate about 100 homes during the Rock Fire in July, an emergency generator installed by the Fallbrook Public Utility District proved its value by providing water to help firefighters extinguish the blaze. The generator was installed about a year ago at the Donnil Pump Station at a cost of about $140,000. Since then, several fires have sparked in the hilly backcountry community north of Fallbrook.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer accepted a nine- figure loan from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday to help the city finance phase one of the Pure Water San Diego water recycling program. Faulconer joined EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler to formally claim the $614 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan. The city estimates that the first phase of the program will cost roughly $1.4 billion, including funding from the loan.
San Diego’s plan to use recycled wastewater to provide one-third of the city’s water supply by 2035 was given the green light earlier this month by city council, which voted to authorize Mayor Kevin Faulconer to begin awarding construction contracts for the first phase of the project. Phase one of Pure Water San Diego will cost roughly $1.4 billion and involve the construction of a water purification facility near the North City Water Reclamation Plant, located just east of interstate 805 near Miramar Road.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s Brought to You by Water outreach and education program made its debut on advertising monitors at Lindbergh Field the day before Thanksgiving – just in time for the busy holiday travel season. Through the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s community promotion program, the ads are expected to remain in the rotation indefinitely, reminding travelers about the importance of water reliability to the region’s quality of life. The electronic display ads are visible in multiple spots throughout baggage claim areas in both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2
Imperial Irrigation District general manager Kevin Kelley will retire at year’s end, capping an often tumultuous and challenging eight years at the helm. Kelley, 60, submitted a letter to the board of directors in a closed session on Monday, and his offer was accepted. “This has actually been in the works for some time,” said Kelley in an interview with The Desert Sun. “I think at this point IID could benefit from fresh thinking and new ideas, and by someone who hasn’t been doing this for eight years.”
The city of San Diego has reached an agreement with two local nonprofit organizations to improve its stormwater infrastructure and local water quality, it was announced today. Under the agreement, the city pledged to improve its stormwater management sites at the Miramar Landfill, Metro Biosolids Center, North City Reclamation Plant, Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant and South Bay Water Reclamation Plant. San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation will concurrently contribute $35,000 to the San Diego Audubon Society to be used for water quality improvement and habitat conservation in Mission Bay.
When Water Authority crews began dewatering part of the region’s pipeline system for a 10-day shutdown in mid-November, they discovered a leaking valve that threatened to disrupt the time-sensitive operation. At issue was a six-foot diameter valve in the Second Aqueduct that was designed to isolate a section of pipeline so workers could safely make repairs inside a dry section of the massive pipe. Instead, the valve was seeping water, which made it impossible to start the welding work slated for the relining project in Bonsall and Fallbrook.
It’s back to square one for the desert community of Borrego Springs, which is facing the daunting task of reducing its consumption of water by at least 75 percent in the coming decades. Mostly lost in the hubbub surrounding the Nov. 6 election was the defeat of Proposition 3, an $8.8 billion state water bond. Had it passed, Borrego Springs would have received $35 million to fallow most of the 3,800 acres of citrus and other farms in the northern part of the community.
Analyses estimated that the area burned by wildfire across the western United States from 1984 to 2015 was twice what would have burned had climate change not occurred. Wildfires around Los Angeles from 1990 to 2009 caused $3.1 billion in damages (unadjusted for inflation). Tree death in mid-elevation conifer forests doubled from 1955 to 2007 due, in part, to climate change. Allowing naturally ignited fires to burn in wilderness areas and preemptively setting low-severity prescribed burns in areas of unnatural fuel accumulations can reduce the risk of high-severity fires under climate change. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally can also reduce ecological vulnerabilities.
Our board has indicated that they plan to remove all turf from the front yards of our community and replace it with various types of non-turf plants. The vast majority of homeowners oppose such a plan. Can a board make a decision of this nature and magnitude without homeowner approval? Their decision would make a highly significant change to the appearance of our community.
