Rain has officially entered the region once again. Coastal communities are not expecting to receive more than an inch of rain through Friday, which might not sound like a lot, but it is when it comes to water conservation.
San Diego water customers are facing a 5.5% rate hike on May 1 that’s expected to be the first of several large increases during the next few years that could cumulatively raise rates by 70%.
The first in a series of Pacific storms moved into San Diego County on Wednesday and began spreading much-needed rain, before a second wave was expected to follow Thursday night into Friday morning.
A winter storm is expected to arrive in Southern California, with rain in San Diego expected to start as early as Wednesday morning and continuing through early Friday. Local mountain ranges can expect snow to accumulate above about 4,500 feet through early Friday, with a Winter Storm Watch expected to take effect.
Showers and thunderstorms are expected throughout San Diego County in the middle of the week, with periods of gusty winds, forecasters said Monday.
The city of San Diego will be completely shutting down a portion of Friars Road between Napa Street and Sea World Drive Friday evening to accommodate work on the Morena Pump Station project part of the sweeping Pure Water San Diego project. From 9 p.m. Friday to 9 p.m. Saturday, the aforementioned portion of Friars Road will close.
Fitch Ratings downgraded the outlook for San Diego’s water fund from “stable” to “negative” this week because of rising debt and concerns that city water rates won’t be able to go much higher once proposed 61% rate hikes have taken effect. Other factors in the downgrade are sharp increases in what the city pays for imported water and falling demand for water among city customers, especially during the rainy fiscal year that ended last June.
The San Diego County Water Authority is notifying residents in three cities that their water service could be impacted and to expect nighttime work this week during work on San Diego’s First Aqueduct. Work has been ongoing to extend the life of the historic First Aqueduct, and the San Diego County Water Authority announced the project has reached the halfway point. However, as crews transition to Phase Two of the project, construction will take place around the clock for 10 days from Feb. 23 to March 4.
The historic First Aqueduct’s critical construction project is at the halfway point, says the San Diego County Water Authority.
The project is intended to ensure the continued delivery of safe and reliable water supplies to the region.
On Feb. 12, federal, state and local officials joined Channelside Water Resources to commemorate the breach of Pond 15, the return of tidal flow to the area for the first time in 50 years. This is a historic milestone for the Otay River Estuary Restoration Project as Pond 15 has not seen active tidal flow since the 1970s.
