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Water Authority Drops Lawsuit Against Water Divorcees

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority’s board voted Thursday to drop a lawsuit the water seller filed in August against two of its customer water districts that are trying to leave and the agency that gave them permission to do so.

After a closed-door deliberation, the Water Authority publicly directed its lawyers to enter into a settlement agreement with Rainbow Municipal Water District, Fallbrook Public Utilities District and the Local Agency Formation Commission or LAFCO – the boundary referees that agreed to allow two of the Water Authority’s customers to divorce from their water seller.

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Water, Sewer, Trash Rates Heading Up in Oceanside

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Phil Diehl Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Oceanside residents will see a trifecta of utility rate hikes in 2024 under water, sewer and trash fee increases approved unanimously Wednesday by the Oceanside City Council.

Water rates will go up 6 percent on Jan. 1, 2024, and another 6 percent in January 2025. The hike reflects higher rates passed along by the Metropolitan Water District and the San Diego County Water Authority, who import the supply to Oceanside, and higher costs for labor, materials, supplies and utilities.

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Pacific Storm Unexpectedly Changes Path and Will Largely Miss San Diego County Friday and Saturday

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

A Pacific storm that was expected to drench San Diego County late Friday and early Saturday is turning away from the region and won’t deliver rain that’s needed to help reduce the risk of wildfires ahead of Santa Ana winds next week, the National Weather Service said.

Forecasters originally thought the system would drop about 0.70 inches of rain west of Interstate 15 and as much as an inch in the valleys, foothills and mountains to the east.

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Coastal Commission to Ask Biden to Declare Border Sewage Crisis an Emergency

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Tammy Murga

The binational agency that operates the aging federal wastewater treatment plant at the U.S.-Mexico border said declaring the sewage crisis an emergency to expedite the facility’s expansion may no longer be effective.

But the California Coastal Commission said Wednesday that all steps are needed to remedy the uncontrolled discharge of raw sewage and other pollutants as soon as possible.

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Oceanside City Council Approves 12% Water Rate Increase Over Next Two Years

/in , , /by /Fox 5 San Diegoby Kasia Gregorczyk Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Oceanside residents will soon see a double-digit increase over the next two years after two years of no increase to their rates at all.

“Anytime we see something like this come forward, especially when cost-of-living generally is going up across-the-board and people are really struggling to make ends meet, this is considered very heavily,” Councilmember Eric Joyce said.

Councilmembers unanimously approved the new rates Wednesday.

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Opinion: What We Flush Down the Toilet Matters. Only the ‘Three Ps,’ Please

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times

What goes in the toilet, and what goes in the trash? It’s the kind of discussion one has with a 2-year old, and is all the more delightful because it’s a topic generally regarded as taboo in polite conversation. You get to say things such as only “the three Ps” — pee, poop and paper — go in the toilet. Everything else goes in the trash can. Right?

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Opinion: Howard Wayne Helped Set California’s Standard For Ocean Water Quality

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens

Howard Wayne had a license plate that read “AB 411.”

That probably meant nothing to the uninitiated, but those who knew the former Assembly member certainly got it.

In 1997, Wayne’s Assembly Bill 411 to require and standardize ocean water-quality testing in California was approved by the Legislature and signed by then-Gov. Pete Wilson.

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‘Ridiculous’ Water Bills. ‘Inordinate’ Hold Times. After Years of Customer Complaints, San Diego is Making Sweeping Changes.

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Garrick

Years of complaints about billing mistakes and hours-long customer-service hold times have prompted San Diego officials to make sweeping changes to the city’s Water Department.

The changes include a new billing system, switching customer service software, new call routing, more payment options and a new policy alerting customers when their bill is being withheld for a leak investigation.

The city is also hiring more customer service workers, paying them more, expanding their training and putting new leaders in charge of their efforts.

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3M, DuPont PFAS Settlements Called Inadequate by Cities, Other Objectors

/in , , /by /Reutersby Clark Mindock

Nov 13 (Reuters) – U.S. cities, towns and water districts have challenged proposed class action settlements worth more than $11 billion with 3M (MMM.N), DuPont de Nemours (DD.N) and others, arguing the deals are too generous to the chemical companies accused of contaminating U.S. water with toxic “forever chemicals.”

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Opinion: Water ‘Divorce’ Election is Manifestation of Larger County Problems

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Customers in two North County water districts overwhelmingly voted to leave a regionwide agency for a simple reason: They can get less-expensive water elsewhere.

But the broader dynamics that led to this moment are complex — and are expected to increase costs for years to come for ratepayers remaining with the San Diego County Water Authority, an umbrella organization currently with 24 member agencies.

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