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Popular Fallbrook Hiking Destination Preserved by FPUD Deal

/in , /by /Water News Network

The parking lot at the Sandia Creek trailhead was supposed to be 150 feet under water, if everything had gone as planned. The land was supposed to be flooded and turned into a dam. That would have made for some beautiful lakefront property in Fallbrook. But things didn’t quite turn out as planned back in the 1960s when Fallbrook Public Utility District purchased 1,384 acres of rural property there. The intent was to dam the Santa Margarita River and share the water with Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. But many things got in the way of that plan. War happened. Leadership faces changed.

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Painters Sentenced for Dumping Lead Paint into San Diego Storm Drain System

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

he CEO and two employees of a Riverside County-based painting company were sentenced after pleading guilty to contaminating San Diego’s storm water system by power-washing painted curbs and allowing toxic lead paint chips to flow into storm drains, City Attorney Mara Elliott announced Friday. The trio were placed on probation and ordered to pay more than$12,000 in fines and restitution, Elliott said. Ochoa Striping Services Inc. was contracted to sandblast paint from curbs in a Del Cerro neighborhood, Elliott said. That method of paint removal would have allowed workers to safely clean up and dispose of hazardous material.

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Water Authority Elects Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary of Board

/in , /by /The Daily Transcript Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority’s board of directors has elected Jim Madaffer as chair, Gary Croucher as vice chair and Christy Guerin as secretary. They began their two-year terms Oct. 1. Madaffer, who joined the Water Authority board in November 2012, is president of the public policy firm Madaffer Enterprises. A former city councilman, Madaffer previously served as chair of the SANDAG’s transportation committee and as president of the California League of Cities. Croucher has served on the Water Authority board for more than 17 years, serving as board secretary for the past two years.

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Cadiz Promises $5 Million to Mojave Water Systems

/in , /by /Los Angeles Business Journalby Howard Fine

Cadiz Inc., the downtown water company with a proposed project to pump and transport water from an aquifer beneath its Mojave Desert land holdings, announced Oct. 5 that it plans to donate up to $5 million from project revenue towards efforts to improve water quality at nearby water systems and throughout Southern California. The $5 million donation would be administered over a five-year period by the Fenner Valley Water Authority, which would then distribute the money to eligible small water systems that serve disadvantaged communities. The money would be used primarily to build water treatment systems.

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4 Inches of Rain is all LA Got Last Year

/in , /by /LAist (Pasadena)by Emily Guerin

Last year, Downtown Los Angeles got exactly 4.72 inches of rain. That’s measly! It’s smaller than the screen on an iPhone. Less than the length of your sunglasses. Shorter than an average adult hand. And it’s 32 percent of what we normally get. That makes October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018 the third driest year since record-keeping began way back in 1877. Only 2001-2002 and 2006-2007 were worse.

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Planting Materials: a Dizzying Array of Choices

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Nan Sterman

Gardening has a vocabulary all its own, especially when it comes to the materials we use for planting and growing plants: dirt, soil, potting mix, planter mix, mulch, compost and many more. It can be pretty confusing, even for experienced green thumbs. To help, here’s a breakdown of some of the most common terms you’ll encounter along your gardening odysseys: Dirt is what you sweep out of your house or clean off the soles of your shoes. Soil is a complex mixture of minerals, organic matter (see definition below), water, air, living organisms including tiny insects and animals, bacteria, fungi, etc.

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Water Authority Nixes Camp Pendleton Desalination Pilot Project

/in , /by /The Daily Transcriptby Thor Kamban Biberman

While the San Diego County Water Authority halts work on a pilot program for a desalination plant at Camp Pendleton, both the Claude “Bud” Lewis Desalination Plant in Carlsbad, and the North City Water Reclamation Plant in UTC are backfilling the region’s needs. For the past three years, the Water Authority has been planning a small-scale pilot facility to assess seawater intake and treatment technologies at Camp Pendleton with funding from state and federal agencies. The resulting plant would be the first in California to investigate an innovative subsurface intake technology for ocean water.

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From Serial to Ethernet

/in , /by /Water & Waste Digestby Alan Levezu

In Northern San Diego County approximately 7 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean lies the town of Vista, Calif. Vista was founded in 1882 and quickly grew as its Mediterranean climate proved to be excellent for agricultural homesteaders. During the 1920s, Vista was referred to as the avocado capital of the world. But the town faced many hurdles during its growth including severe drought, a problem that Vista, like the rest of California, faces today. As the area increased in population, the Vista Irrigation District was created in 1923 to ensure a reliable source of water for the naturally arid region.

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OPINION: Progress on Critical Water Issues

/in , /by /Pomerado Newsby Mark Muir Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

When I started my term as board chair of the San Diego County Water Authority in October 2016, California was mired in drought but the San Diego region had sufficient supplies regardless of the weather. Thankfully, just a few months later, epic rain and snow significantly improved water supply conditions statewide, but not before validating our long-term strategy to develop a drought-resilient portfolio of water resources that protect the region during dry times. In fact, we had enough water to store 100,000 acre-feet of water for the future – a testament to regional foresight, coordination, hard work and investments by ratepayers.

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Massive Water Main Break Floods North Park Streets, Leaves Cars Partially Submerged

/in , /by /10 News (San Diego)by Jermaine Ong

A massive water main break flooded numerous streets in North Park and left many vehicles partially submerged Thursday morning. San Diego water officials said a 24-inch transmission water main broke shortly before 7:30 a.m. in the 4100 block of Idaho Street, near Polk Avenue and the North Park Community Park. Several San Diego water department crews were dispatched to various nearby areas to repair the break. Water flow was shut off by 10 a.m. Officials said repairs were expected to continue through the evening.

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