The Olivenhain Municipal Water District continues to reduce demand for imported drinking water by converting additional customer meters within The Lakes Above Rancho Santa Fe community to recycled water for irrigation. This phase included the installation of four new water meters that will measure an anticipated savings of over nine million gallons of imported drinking water each year.
Eight high school students were honored for their award-winning photographs in the annual Sweetwater Authority High School Photo Contest. The winners were selected from a group of 62 students from high schools across the South Bay within the Authority’s service area.
With phase one of San Diego’s Pure Water sewage recycling system nearly half built, city officials are making major adjustments to plans for constructing the rest of the system in order to avoid delays and potentially shrink overall costs.
To cope with severe flooding at the Morena Boulevard pump station that threatens to delay the start of operations by more than a year, city officials now plan to temporarily recycle only 40 percent as much sewage so they can start on time in mid-2025.
With the future of the Colorado River and the amount of water it will be able to deliver to Southern California in question, the Long Beach Utilities Department is looking at investing $157 million into its groundwater system, which could reduce the city’s reliance on expensive and diminishing imported water.
Groundwater accounts for about 60% of the water that Long Beach residents use each year, and the Colorado provides about 25% of the city’s supply, with the rest coming from the State Water Project, both of which can fluctuate with precipitation patterns.
Should two rural North County communities be allowed to purchase cheaper water from outside of the San Diego region in a desperate attempt to save farming — even if it could mean slightly higher bills for other ratepayers?
An attorney for the West Basin Municipal Water District has determined board member Gloria Gray is likely holding two incompatible offices, in violation of state law, because the water district sells to the Inglewood, where she is now a City Council member.
Elected officials do not need an actual conflict of interest for the two roles to be deemed incompatible, only the “possibility of a clash of duties,” said attorney Joe Byrne, the district’s general counsel, during the water board meeting on Monday, April 24.
The largest project in the city of San Marcos is only a few weeks from completion.
The city dedicated millions of dollars and spent three years improving the area around San Marcos Creek, which runs through the center of town. The creek regularly flooded streets when it rained, prompting road closures and backed–up traffic.
Following an epic winter that has grown the California snowpack to historic levels, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is preparing for an equally epic runoff season. With the Eastern Sierra snowpack at 296% of normal, the municipally owned water agency for the City of Los Angeles is anticipating runoff to be 225% of normal and is implementing safety measures.
Mark Pestrella is the director of L.A. County Public Works, which oversees 27 spreading grounds and 14 dams that both hold most of our local water supply as well as prevent massive flooding in the cities below.
Pestrella said he isn’t losing sleep over a megaflood. His biggest concern? The increasing severity of smaller, but intense storms — like many we experienced this winter.
Over the last four months, storm after storm pounded the California coast – leading to dramatic changes in our water supply and drought conditions – including in San Diego. But many are asking whether it’s safe to say the drought is complete “over.”
The weekly published Drought Monitor shows that conditions significantly improved compared to last year.
