A bill from a San Diego legislator that requires public schools to test for lead in campus water systems, and notify parents if elevated levels are found, was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown Friday.
Assembly Bill 746, by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, stemmed from the discovery of excess lead in drinking water at schools in the San Diego Unified and San Ysidro school districts.
At least one San Diego leader wants water researchers to start testing city waterways for hepatitis A. Councilman David Alvarez on Thursday penned a letter to the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project requesting that the environmental research group start testing as many as a half-dozen area waterways for the deadly liver infection.
President Donald Trump’s administration has approved a company’s plan to build a water pipeline to carry billions of gallons from the Mojave Desert to California cities. The federal Bureau of Land Management told Cadiz Inc. in a letter released Monday that the company won’t need a permit to build the pipeline alongside a railroad. The agency rescinded a 2015 decision by President Barack Obama’s administration that had blocked the project.
In an about-face, the federal government has given Cadiz Inc. the go-ahead to lay a pipeline for its proposed desert water project in an existing railroad right-of-way. The decision by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management follows other Trump administration moves to eliminate a legal hurdle erected in the company’s path when President Obama was in office.
Up to 60,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the storm drain system that goes to Lake Hodges just before 11 a.m. Sunday, according to the City of Escondido. The sewage spill happened in the Westfield Mall parking lot off Interstate 15 in south Escondido. City workers secured the broken line and a nearby pump station by 1 p.m. Sunday. The County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health, Regional Water Quality Control Board, and State Office of Emergency Services all responded.
After Tuesday’s vote by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to participate in a giant water delivery project more than 300 miles to the north, Los Angeles is left to wonder: Are we all in on the delta tunnels and their $17 billion price tag ($4.3 billion for Southern California)? Are we all out? Does Mayor Eric Garcetti have a better alternative, and will he try to stop the tunnels project from moving forward?
No one is monitoring San Diego’s surface water for hepatitis A, even amid a deadly, human waste-fueled outbreak of the disease that can spread through area waterways.
That’s according to a letter from federal officials to U.S. Rep. Scott Peters, who last month asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take “the immediate steps necessary” to address potential waterborne transmission of the viral liver infection that has killed 18 people and sickened nearly 500 others since November.
With the recent passage of Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 80, October 7-15 was officially designated as “Water Professionals Week.” SCR 80, authored by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), was sponsored by a coalition of state water, wastewater and utility associations, including the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) to bring recognition to the service and contributions by the water and wastewater professionals serving the various communities across California.
With the governor’s signature late Monday (October 9th), $2.1 million in state funding is on its way to the Tijuana River Valley — some of it earmarked to deal with the sewage, trash, and sediment that enters the U.S. along the border. Senate Bill 507 allocates $500,000 to update the feasibility study for capturing, controlling, and treating the waste and water that currently enters the river valley from Mexico. State senator Ben Hueso and assemblyman Todd Gloria promised to seek the funding in May.
The City of San Diego now offers a rebate to encourage its water customers to conserve water by removing their water thirsty grass and installing water-wise material and efficient irrigation systems. The City’s Public Utilities Department water customers can receive a rebate up to $4,250 for residential owners and $17,000 for commercial owners. “This rebate will allow customers to become empowered in their efforts to save money on their water bills,” said Halla Razak, Director of Public Utilities.
