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Maintenance Men Bring Home The Hardware From National Contest

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

Two maintenance pros representing San Diego brought home awards from the 2018 American Public Works Association’s National Roadeo Skills Competition in Kansas City, Missouri , in late August. The San Diego County Water Authority’s Bobby Bond Jr. placed second in the backhoe/mini-excavator event, while John Brown, also of the Water Authority, placed third in the skid steer competition. They are the only winners from west of the Rockies, and the only two winners from a single agency nationwide. A record number of 86 participants competed in three categories of competition: the backhoe/mini-excavator, skid steer, and mechanics.

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Crowd Drinks In Water Fest In Santee

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

Several hundred residents poured into the East County Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Project Visitor Center on Fanita Parkway on Saturday to learn about recycled water. The Padre Dam Municipal Water District’s first East County Water Festival celebrated water and showed visitors how it recycles waste and turns it into drinkable water. The free event included a tour of the facility that cleans and purifies wastewater plus educational booths, food, snow cones and iced coffee beverages made using purified recycled water. People planted succulents in small plastic cups they could take home, kids got their faces painted and families posed with water-related props in a photo booth at the event.

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CCA 101: How Does Community Choice Aggregation Work? What You Need To Know

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski

The name may sound clunky, but Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA, is one of the hottest energy topics in California and may upend the long-time relationship between utilities and customers. But while the growth of CCAs has led to heated debates across the state within the energy and political spheres, many local utility customers are either unclear or unaware of the subject — even as the City of San Diego slowly deliberates whether to hop on the CCA bandwagon to help it meet its Climate Action Plan that calls for 100 percent of the city’s electricity coming from renewable sources by 2035.

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Water Officials Take Records Dispute To State Supreme Court

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Jeff McDonald Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego County water officials have long been at odds with their counterparts in Los Angeles, who control millions of gallons imported every day into the southwest corner of California. But a new dispute has broken out between the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and its member agency, the San Diego County Water Authority — and it’s not about the wet stuff. Instead, lawyers for both sides are fighting over what qualifies as a public record. Attorneys for the San Diego water agency want to know how Metropolitan calculated its rates and other charges.

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OPINION: The More We Drink, The Thirstier We Get

/in , /by /Santa Monica Mirror

Thirst, according to Merriam-Webster: “a sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat associated with a desire for liquids.” We’re getting thirstier. A year ago our colleague Thane Roberts pointed out that between 2005 and 2013 the City’s commercial sector increased its water consumption enormously, while the residential sector reduced its overall use–even while the city’s population grew. Why is this important? Because Santa Monica buys part of its water–roughly a quarter of its needs–from the Metropolitan Water District. The MWD’s water is obtained from sources that are becoming increasingly scarce, and the price is going up as the sources dry up.

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OPINION: How Prop 3 Helps Ensure California’s Water Future

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Timothy Quinn

At no other time in California’s history have its citizens faced such a complex array of extremes affecting the quality and resiliency of our water supply. But if you’re an optimist like me, you can recognize that 2018 gives us an ideal opportunity to make a significant impact, overcome challenges and ensure the best chance possible toward securing California’s water future.

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OPINION: Vote No On Proposition 3: A Special Interest Giveaway

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Peter Andersen

Proposition 3 is a special interest giveaway of nearly $8.9 billion to water districts and agribusiness, and provides little or no benefit to San Diego. It was crafted behind the scenes by special interests without input from the public or the Legislature. This measure makes us all pay for specific water districts and for agribusinesses. They should be responsible for their own infrastructure and canal repairs, particularly since their overpumping of the aquifer led to the collapse of some of that infrastructure.

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California Sues Federal Government Over Tijuana Sewage Spilling Into San Diego

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

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit Tuesday night against the Trump administration, alleging that the federal government violated the Clean Water Act by allowing, in recent years, millions of gallons of raw sewage, heavy metals and other contamination to routinely spill from Tijuana into San Diego. Toxic water pollution from Mexico shuttered San Diego beaches located near the Tijuana River Valley on more than 500 days in the last three years, according to the complaint.

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California Passes 100% Clean Energy Bill, But Punts On Several Plans For Getting There

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Sammy Roth

California lawmakers passed a bill last week requiring the state to get 100 percent of its electricity from climate-friendly sources like solar and wind. But they didn’t vote on several proposals designed to help California achieve that goal, including a plan backed by Gov. Jerry Brown to connect the power grids of as many as 14 western states, as well as a bill that would have promoted geothermal energy development at the Salton Sea.

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OPINION: Water Investments Fuel Our Growing Economy

/in , /by /San Diego Business Journalby Janice Brown & Kirby Brady Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

While it may seem both obvious and subtle, San Diego County’s thriving $220 billion economy and quality of life is made possible by a safe and reliable water supply. Every day, water is delivered to 1.1 million households and 98,000 businesses throughout the region.

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