The San Diego County Water Authority has earned Climate Registered gold status from The Climate Registry for the fourth consecutive year. The Water Authority was recognized for verifying and publicly reporting its greenhouse gas emissions, an effort that fosters transparency for the agency’s climate mitigation initiatives and helps the agency track and validate emissions reductions in the future.
Construction on the City of Poway’s clearwell replacement is anticipated to begin this fall following the award of contract to Gateway Pacific Contractors, Inc. The contract was awarded at the Sept. 19 Poway City Council meeting.
The clearwell is Poway’s major storage reservoir for water treated at the water treatment plant, prior to being distributed to Poway water customers.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority was recently awarded a $31,852,000 grant from the California Coastal Conservancy that will fund ongoing restoration efforts.
According to wetland ecology expert Christine Whitcraft of California State University, Long Beach, restoring coastal wetland ecosystems is a crucial step in protecting the endangered wildlife that calls places like Los Cerritos home.
Engineers with the city of San Diego say local neighborhoods are always one rainstorm away from disastrous flooding. They say it’s because our storm system is decades past its lifetime. And right now, they say, the city doesn’t have enough money to set aside to fix problems that keep them up at night.
After three years and a contentious fight, ratepayers in Fallbrook and Rainbow will finally have their say on whether to leave the San Diego County Water Authority in November’s special election.
But for a while, that vote was in jeopardy.
When the San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approved the detachment in July, there was a bill making its way through the California Legislature that could have upended that.
The Tijuana River sewage emergency has reached the state level once again.
All 18 mayors in San Diego County have sent another letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, asking for his help to address the ongoing sewage and chemical pollutants flowing into the ocean from the river.
Oceanside’s water rates could climb 6 percent in 2024 and another 6 percent in 2025 under a proposal outlined this week by the city’s water utilities director.
The increases are the result of rate hikes by the Metropolitan Water District, Southern California’s biggest water wholesaler, and the San Diego County Water Authority, which buys water from Metropolitan and sells it to local agencies.
“We are directly passing through those rates,” Oceanside Water Utilities Director Lindsay Leahy said Tuesday in a presentation to the city’s Water Utilities Commission. The proposal is scheduled to go to the Oceanside City Council for approval Nov. 15.
The San Diego Unified Port District is adding its voice to the call for a state of emergency over cross-border sewage flows in the South Bay.
The port sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom asking him to take the issue seriously.
The Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors acted to expand financial assistance to more customers through IID’s Residential Energy Assistance Program (REAP), according to a recent IID press release.
“Our commitment has always been to the well-being of our customers. Recognizing the financial hardships many face, we’ve taken measures to extend our reach and support,” IID Board President, Alex Cardenas said in the release. “Now, even more residents will find relief in their electric bills through our comprehensive assistance programs. This Board’s united action today speaks volumes and our message is clear: We’re here for you.”
On a 5-3 vote, the San Diego City Council approved a series of water rate increases Tuesday totaling nearly 20% over the next two years, following a public hearing during which San Diegans largely urged the body to reject the hikes.
The first adjustment will be an increase of 5%, effective Dec. 1, 2023, followed by a 5.2% increase on July 1, 2024, and an increase of 8.7% effective Jan. 1, 2025. While ratepayers have previously seen smaller increases, Tuesday’s rate adjustment is the first comprehensive jump in rates since 2015.
“This is a significant magnitude of a fee increase,” said Councilmember Kent Lee. “I think it was pointed out earlier that we have not had a rate increase of this magnitude for several years and it will have a significant impact on residents.”
