Less than a week after an expert told NBC 7 Responds the city’s water meter testing procedures had “inadequacies” and past testing results were incomplete, the Public Utilities Department announced Wednesday they will be refunding customers who paid for meter tests during the past seven months. The policy change will only cover tests performed in the current fiscal year, going back to July 1, 2017.
A reservoir capable of holding 1.6 billion gallons of recycled water is set to sustain south Orange County by the end of 2019. Once completed, the Trampas Canyon Reservoir will store enough excess treated water in the winter months to meet irrigation demands in the region during the summer. It will also be the largest surface water reservoir in south Orange County, with the capacity to hold more than one-half of the recycled water the district will generate from its nearby Chiquita Water Reclamation Plant, officials said.
They say we could use some rain. Why? Let the deluge happen up north. Root for a huge snowpack in the Sierra. Pray for 40 days and 40 nights of rain in the Colorado River Basin. But must we be guilted into acting like we want downpours that wash away parts of the county? Come now. We like sunshine, every day. That’s why we love it here. That’s why so many songs about Southern California feature sunshine.
By paying their water bills, San Diego residents have sent $2.5 million to help reopen a slaughterhouse in Imperial County. It’s one project of many that San Diegans supported through water payments that were earmarked for Imperial County, our neighbor to the east. There’s $346,000 and counting to fight cancer, $1 million to a food bank, $2.5 million to get an ethanol plant up and running, $15,000 to purchase tools for a body shop, $650,000 to expand a tortilla-making business, and $5,000 help a Methodist church hand out food and gas vouchers.
San Diegans got a chance to hear from the Public Utilities Department about concerns about their soaring water bills Wednesday evening. A forum with Public Utilities Deparment officials was held at the La Jolla Riford Library after people across the county have been opening their water bill to see rates in the thousands. While officials attempted to answer questions, a number to water customers tried to dive right in to getting their bills in question resolved. Officials said they understand the raw emotion and confusion.
Scattered showers and a bitter cold combined Wednesday to create winter weather for San Diego that by the day’s end had brought snowfall to the mountains. Temperatures were in the mid 20s to mid 30s for much of San Diego County in the morning, though the increasing cloud cover helped mitigate the cold. The high temperature was forecasted to reach 59 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The mountains in the East County will see a lingering chance for snow flurries throughout the next several nights and days, according to NBC 7 Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh.
Even though there is rain in the forecast, is it enough to ease California’s drought problem? California officials are debating making once temporary water restrictions, permanent. Some of the the restrictions include not watering outside for 48-hours after it rains and not using a hose to wash sidewalks. Offenders could be fined up to $500 per violation. The State Water Resources Control Board delayed a Tuesday vote on the restrictions so there would be more time for public comment. This comes a week after U.S. Drought Monitors declared nearly half the state is now back in a drought.
Jim Robinson is returning to the Ramona Municipal Water District Board as board president. The longtime Ramona resident, appointed to fill a vacancy left when Joe Zenovic resigned, began representing Division 4 on the board on Feb. 13. At that meeting, board directors unanimously elected Robinson president; Jim Hickle, Division 2, vice president; Bryan Wadlington, Division 5, secretary; Jeff Lawler, Division 1, treasurer; and Thomas Ace, Division 3, director at large.
As dry conditions persist in California, residents in San Diego County and around the state have started using water at levels not seen since before the state’s historic drought. In Southern California, usage surpassed pre-drought levels — with some water districts seeing two- and three-fold increases in consumption for December over the same month the previous year, according to data released in February by state water officials.
State water regulators met in Sacramento Tuesday to consider making water wasting rules permanent state law, according to The Mercury News.The State Water Resources Control Board held the public hearing, but it’s unclear whether a final vote would come Tuesday, or at a later date. The talks come amid one of the driest winters in modern California history. The rules being discussed were originally enacted during the last drought.
