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Padre Dam Municipal Water District, already charging among the highest water rates in the nation, is proposing yet another five-year rate increase that officials say is necessary to maintain the agency’s services. In a 12-page notice sent out to all of Padre Dam’s 24,000 customers, the district outlined the rate increases depending on use, and the rationale supporting the increases. Starting in November, an average residential customer in Padre Dam’s district should expect their combined water and sewer monthly bill to rise to $154.75, up $3.74, or nearly $45 annually.

The San Diego County Water Authority announced Thursday that staff is recommending a 3.7 percent hike in the amount of money local cities and districts pay for water in the 2018 calendar year. The authority said most of the increase was due to the price of imported water from the Metropolitan Water District, the primary wholesaler in California, and Colorado River. The SDCWA takes imported water and collected local rainfall and distributes it to local agencies like the city of San Diego, Helix Water District and the like, which sends the product on to homes and businesses.

Federal cuts are threatening to close down the Tijuana Estuary Visitors Center, and supporters are writing letters to local Congress leaders urging them to restore funding to save a vital piece of California’s coast.  In President Trump’s budget, he is proposing to cut $250 million in grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Mr. Trump had previously said “these programs are a lower priority than core functions maintained in the budget such as surveys, charting and fisheries management.”

Yes, fellow citizens, there is something that both major political parties agree on: the need for infrastructure investment to get the country’s water systems, highways and other major public facilities rebuilt in order to avoid major failures in the near future. Our politicians are not the only ones working to accomplish this. A growing number of water districts and companies are hard at work on major water supply and wastewater initiatives.

Today the Poway Unified School District is testing water for lead at 12 campuses. The district sent a letter to parents to notify them of the testing, which will run through mid-June. The affected campuses include: Chaparral, Garden Road, Midland, Painted Rock, Pomerado, Tierra Bonita, and Valley Elementary schools, Meadowbrook and Twin Peaks middle schools, Abraxas and Poway high schools, and the CTE/Adult Education campus. The PUSD will also be requesting lead testing for its remaining schools served by the City of San Diego and Olivenhain Municipal Water District.