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Significantly more schools in San Diego are having their water tested for toxic lead than elsewhere in California, prompting local water officials to begin pressing for state reimbursement of steep testing costs. Since California began in January requiring water agencies to conduct lead tests for free at all schools that submit requests, 507 out of 1,259 schools tested statewide have been in San Diego County. That number dwarfs second-place Los Angeles County, with 100 schools tested, third-place Orange County, with 85 schools tested, and every other county in the state.

The health of many rivers and streams throughout San Diego County — which flow down canyons and wind through often contaminated urban landscapes — has improved after suffering during several years of drought conditions, according to a report released this week by the nonprofit environmental group San Diego Coastkeeper. While pollution continues to significantly impact all watersheds in the region, Coastkeeper’s annual water-quality monitoring report found markedly cleaner waters in 2016 compared to the previous two years. That includes monitoring done in the San Diego, Sweetwater and Otay watersheds.

The San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) is moving forwarding with the $28.6 million Milestone Pipeline Relining project. The Board of Directors approved the project Thursday to rehabilitate more than four-miles of a pipeline between Lake Murray and Sweetwater Reservoir. “Pipeline relining is an important and often overlooked program that’s extending the life and reliability of the system we depend on every day to deliver water to our taps when we need it,” said Mark Muir, chair of the Water Authority Board.

Despite some initial concerns over cost and value by some members, the Municipal Services Committee unanimously agreed to adopt a resolution in support of the California WaterFix project and California Eco Restore. Mayor Terry Tornek, a member of the committee, questioned representatives of the Metropolitan Water District as to whether or not alternative plans such as water conservation, saving rain water and similar plans, might decrease the demand for the plan, but was told that while local conservation efforts have been successful, the demand for water continues to increase.

On the heels of record rain and snow in California, some local water agencies are experiencing a bonanza of surplus supplies. But others that rely on groundwater are still feeling lingering effects of the state’s five-year drought. Perhaps the most visible sign of this summer’s water feast can be seen from the I-5 freeway north of Balboa Boulevard, where the historic Los Angeles Aqueduct crosses into the San Fernando Valley. It’s at that point where water in the aqueduct tumbles down an open-air staircase of concrete blocks called the Cascades.