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This week marks the 10-year anniversary of the man-made opening of the Bolsa Chica wetlands to the Pacific Ocean. Wetlands are an essential part of coastal ecosystems. They improve water quality by filtering sediment, nutrients and pesticides, recharge groundwater, protect shorelines by increasing resistance to erosion, provide bird flyways and most importantly are incubators for a wide variety of fish. California has lost 91 percent of its wetlands, more than any other state.

The much-anticipated reopening of San Vicente Reservoir is slated for September 22^nd, SDFISH.com reports. The lake has been closed since September 1, 2008 for construction of the largest dam-raise in the U.S.  SDFISH.com has also set up a discussion forum on San Vicente’s opening here. Fishing and boating reservations must be made in advance through Ticketron roughly four weeks in advance.  The following information is available on the city of San Diego’s website for San Vicente: San Vicente Reservoir San Vicente is a deep, steep-sided impounding reservoir on San Vicente Creek, approximately 25 miles northeast of San Diego.

You never know what kind of bold, bizarre and humanity-benefitting concepts the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) will yield. After all, the LAGI is the force behind a biannual design competition — motto: “Renewable Energy Can Be Beautiful” — that in 2014 introduced the world to Energy Duck, a semi-terrifying, solar panel-clad bird-monster roughly the size of a tugboat. Like in years past, LAGI 2016 aims to solicit “human-centered solutions” that marry site-specific public art with sustainable energy infrastructure.

The country’s largest desalination plant is in the ground at Carlsbad and its water is in our pipes, but the debate over whether it was a wise or economical investment continues.The ability to turn salty ocean water into drinking water creates a dependable water supply for 3 million people in San Diego County. Even without a drought continuing across California, the ability to constantly sip from the ocean seems like an obvious plus. There are downsides, though: The desalination process is energy-intensive and its water is currently far more expensive than our other water supplies.

Since the Carlsbad Desalination Plant went online last December, you have probably noticed the difference in your water bill. Well, that extra cash is going back into paying for the project.This project was in development for 16 years and even though it’s extremely expensive, more agencies are looking to build similar plants up and down California.The water at the Claude Bud Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is flowing about 10 billion gallons of fresh drinking water since it went online at the end of last year.