As you circle the Silver Lake Reservoir’s shores over the next two months, watching its concentric bathtub rings vanish beneath icy blue Eastern Sierra snowmelt, don’t be fooled into thinking that’s a victory. Yes, the reservoir is being refilled. And with real water. And sooner than we thought. But refilling the Silver Lake Reservoir is a big missed opportunity.
The San Diego Unified School District began testing its schools’ water Tuesday after lab reports confirmed “higher than allowable” lead levels were found at one campus. Five water samples were taken from Horton Elementary School on Guymon Street in the morning, hours before staff or students arrived to campus. Samples were collected from water in the cafeteria, food prep areas and also drinking fountains. It’s one of the first schools within the district to be tested for lead and other contaminates.
Testing for lead in water systems at San Diego Unified School District campuses began Monday, according to district officials. The testing program comes a couple of months after elevated levels of lead, copper and bacteria were discovered at three campuses in the San Ysidro School District. Testing previously took place at Emerson-Bandini Elementary School in Southcrest after a nurse saw a therapy dog reluctant to drink the water — which turned out to contain a variety of contaminants, including lead, according to multiple news reports.
In 2004, 83 percent of California voters approved Proposition 59, which had been placed on the state ballot by unanimous votes of the state Senate and Assembly. The “Sunshine Amendment” was intended to be the most forceful formal endorsement in California history of the paramount importance of government openness and transparency. It guaranteed public access to the meetings of government agencies and boards. But it also offered landmark guidance: It held that “statutes and rules furthering public access shall be broadly construed, or narrowly construed if limiting access.”
The drought in California may be easing after a long and wet winter, but that doesn’t mean the Golden State is free from water troubles. That’s why a new campaign by LA agency Quigley-Simpson for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (a state-established cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving nearly 19 million people) is informing people that water conservation is still a priority.
The so-called “superbloom” has apparently made some fans of wildflowers super obnoxious. Diamond Valley Lake’s wildflower trail has become so popular these past few weeks, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California – which oversees the lake – had to close it “due to excessive foot traffic.” To put it plainly, too many people were going off-trail and trampling the wildflowers. “Measures were set up to reinforce the importance of trail rules and to ensure that the Reserve resources are protected while visitors experience the beauty of the wildflowers,” according to Diamond Valley Lake’s website.
Testing for lead in water systems at San Diego Unified School District campuses began Monday, according to district officials. The testing program comes a couple of months after elevated levels of lead, copper and bacteria were discovered at three campuses in the San Ysidro School District. Testing previously took place at Emerson-Bandini Elementary School in Southcrest after a nurse saw a therapy dog reluctant to drink the water — which turned out to contain a variety of contaminants, including lead, according to multiple news reports.
It was just before noon on a recent Sunday morning and a line had formed for the port-a-potties near the Wildflower Trail at Diamond Valley Lake in Riverside County. Cars were backed up around a bend in the road, and frustrated people resorted to parking two miles away and walking in.
They had come to see the “super bloom,” of wildflowers that have sprung up around the trails snaking around this drinking water reservoir. People are excited to take pictures of the flowers and themselves among the flowers, and many areas have been trampled.
Here in California, we’ve been on a roller coaster when it comes to water. After five years of crippling drought, the Golden State had one of its wettest winters on record. So what has all the rain and snow meant for our water supply in Southern California? It depends on where you live and where your water comes from. About thirty percent of Southern California’s water comes from far, far away: Lake Oroville, a giant reservoir in the Sierra Nevada about 80 miles north of Sacramento.
In the past several months, three schools in the San Diego region have revealed the presence of alarming levels of lead in their drinking water. Lead is unsafe at any level and it is especially damaging to children’s brains. Now, San Diego Unified and other school districts across the county are moving to test many more schools. Here’s what we know and what we do not.
