Low-income residents may still access millions of dollars in federal assistance to help pay overdue residential water and wastewater bills, the San Diego County Water Authority announced Friday.
Millions of dollars in federal aid are still available for low-income water customers in San Diego County to cover overdue residential water and wastewater bills. The San Diego County Water Authority helped secure the federal funds — and the deadline for applications has been extended to March 31, 2024.
Low-income residents may still access millions of dollars in federal assistance to help pay overdue residential water and wastewater bills, the San Diego County Water Authority announced Friday.
According to a news release, the application deadline for the Low-Income Water Assistance Program has been extended to March 31, 2024.
Congress established the program in 2021, and the federal government provided California with $116 million.
As of now, the state has $40 million available, with $5 million for San Diego County, Water Authority officials said.
North County residents in the Fallbrook Public Utilities and Rainbow Municipal Water districts will soon vote on the controversial separation of the two utility agencies from the San Diego County Water Authority.
Registered voters in the rural communities will be able to cast a ballot to approve the long-planned detachment from the region’s biggest water seller in a special election on Nov. 7.
It will be one of three happening across the county next week, including the elections to fill vacant seats on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and in Chula Vista.
Hailing her as a champion for the environment and water recycling, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on Thursday, Nov. 11, renamed the Pure Water Southern California demonstration plant after Rep. Grace Napolitano.
Napolitano, D-El Monte, who is retiring at the end of her term, was on hand for the dedication ceremony in Carson Thursday morning. The plant was officially renamed the Grace F. Napolitano Pure Water Southern California Innovation Center “for her unwavering dedication to water sustainability and reliability for all of Southern California,” according to a statement.
“What can be universally said about Congresswoman Napolitano is that she is the ultimate connector of people and creator of solutions,” MWD Board Chair Adán Ortega Jr. said. “Imagine her the needle and us the thread. She has banded us together to address our challenges — to clean up uranium tailings in Moab, Utah; to expand water recycling across the state; to increase water conservation in homes; and to develop water career training programs, ensuring we have the future workforce we need. This center for innovation in the science of water recycling can only have one name, and it is in honor of Congresswoman Grace Napolitano.”
Water quality data shows bacteria levels in the ocean along South Bay beaches have been hundreds of times over what’s considered safe for human health this past week. The culprit, per usual, is sewage flowing from Mexico into the Tijuana River which empties into the Pacific Ocean just south of San Diego’s southernmost cities. But the people who manage wastewater infrastructure in the U.S.-Mexico border say respite is nigh.
I traveled to Imperial County last month to see what this desert farming community built with the cash San Diegans pay for some of its water.
The latest thing is a small lake, eight times the length of an Olympic lap pool, built into the harsh, flat landscape. The hot wind whipped at the new reservoir’s surface so hard, waves of it almost breached the bare dirt rims of its chamber.
With climatologists predicting the potential for above-average precipitation in the months ahead due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, it’s an ideal time to take advantage of the County of San Diego’s upcoming rainwater harvesting workshops and rain barrel rebates.
The County’s Waterscape Rebate Program will host free rainwater harvesting workshops in Fall and Winter 2023.
Californians who need help paying their water bills can benefit from a state-administered program.
The Low Income Household Water Assistance Program, which is administered by the state Department of Community Service and Development, is available to both renters and homeowners.
Despite an unusually wet season last year and predictions for a boisterous rainy season this year, California continues to struggle to store enough water to meet the needs of its population and farms. We’ve experienced two particularly grueling droughts in the last decade, with state officials repeatedly blaming climate change for the challenges.
