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Matthew R. Hahn Named President of OMWD’s Board of Directors

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Encinitas, Calif. — At today’s Olivenhain Municipal Water District board meeting, Matthew R. Hahn assumed the position of president of the Board of Directors. Mr. Hahn will serve as president for the 2025-2026 term.

Initially elected to the board in 2022, Mr. Hahn represents Division 4 of OMWD’s service area, which includes the 4S Ranch community. In addition to his duties as president, Mr. Hahn will also serve on OMWD’s Safety Committee, Customer Outreach and Conservation Committee, and Public Policy Committee.

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An Even Bigger Threat is Looming Behind California’s Fires

/in , , /by /Voxby Umair Irfan

Fires in and around Los Angeles continue to rage as gusting Santa Ana winds drive the flames through brush and into neighborhoods. Two major blazes, the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire, have combined burned almost 40,000 acres since last week. Another fire, the Auto Fire, erupted Monday evening in Ventura County. The fires have killed at least 24 people.

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Water Disinformation Is Spreading in Southern California Nearly as Quickly as Wildfires

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego

A billionaire couple was accused of withholding water that could help stop Los Angeles’ massive wildfires. Democratic leadership was blamed for fire hydrants running dry and for an empty reservoir. Firefighters were criticized for allegedly using “women’s handbags” to fight the fires.

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Pistachio Moguls and Reservoirs: False Water Claims Spread About California Fires

/in , , /by /NPRby Julia Simon

As massive fires continue to sweep through Los Angeles, firefighters are relying on local water infrastructure not designed for fires of this size, researchers say. Fires in California have grown more explosive because of climate change, which is largely driven by humans burning oil, gas and coal.

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Lack of Water Pressure in Hydrants Not Uncommon in Large-Scale Fires, Engineer Says

/in , , /by /NBC 7 San Diego

An engineer explained to NBC 7’s Alexis Rivas how the placement of homes — like those in the Pacific Palisades — can impact water pressure in hydrants. However, he said there is no fire hydrant system in the nation designed for what happened last week.

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San Jose Water Agency to Vote on Whether to Help Fund Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $20 Billion Delta Tunnel Project

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

Silicon Valley’s largest water agency will vote Tuesday on whether to support Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to spend $20 billion to build a massive, 45-mile long tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to make it easier to move water from Northern California to Southern California.

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Representing Water Authority, Director Katz Joins MWD Board

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San Diego business and civic leader Mel Katz was seated today as San Diego County Water Authority’s newest representative on the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Katz has served on the Water Authority’s board of directors since 2018, representing the city of Del Mar and served as chair from 2022 to 2024. Katz succeeds Tim Smith, who represented the Water Authority on Metropolitan’s 38-member board since January 2018.

Chair Emeritus Mel Katz is sworn in as the Water Authority’s new delegate to MWD

“Director Katz and I formed strong bonds of partnership and friendship between our agencies during his time as chair of the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors. This will prove to be key to a new era of regionalism in water supply management encompassing all our member agencies including San Diego,” said Metropolitan board Chair Adán Ortega, Jr. “Director Katz is bringing his skill as a consensus builder to Metropolitan for the benefit of all of Southern California and I heartedly welcome him on behalf of the board.”

Katz is the co-founder and executive officer of Manpower San Diego, a staffing services firm that has grown to become the largest Manpower franchise in the United States. He has a long resume of civic involvement, including serving as board chair of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the San Diego Workforce Partnership, San Diego Convention Center, American Cancer Society and the San Diego Library Commission.

Katz and his wife Linda were named Mr. and Mrs. San Diego in 2017 by San Diego Rotary for their extensive community leadership. The couple has three children and five grandchildren.

This item was written by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

San Diego Back in Drought Conditions Amid Red Flag Warning, More Santa Ana Winds

/in , , /by /Fox 5/KUSIby Anna Ashcraft

As the latest round of Santa Ana winds hits the region and more Red Flag Warnings were put in place for thousands of residents, most of San Diego County and Southern California have slipped back into drought conditions.

The start to 2025 has been historic for Southern California, with wildfires causing widespread devastation throughout Los Angeles and no measurable rainfall in recent months causing the driest start to the water year in San Diego’s recorded weather history.

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Modernizing America’s Water Infrastructure: EPA’s Groundbreaking Progress

/in , , /by /Smart Water Magazineby Cristina Novo

The U.S. EPA has released its 2024 Investing in America report, detailing the investment progress under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – two landmark pieces of legislation reshaping the future of the U.S. economy. Together, the BIL and the IRA provide the EPA $102 billion, including $41 billion under the IRA (FY 2022) and $61 billion under the BIL over five fiscal years (FY 2022 to FY 2026). To date, the resources appropriated to the EPA under the BIL amount to $36.9 billion.

Nearly half of the total appropriation – $50 billion – targets water, one of the EPA’s five major programs (the other four being climate action, air, land, and protecting our communities), marking the largest federal investment in water systems in U.S. history. This funding aims to modernize the nation’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure while preserving critical waterways.

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Contaminated Drinking Water Is a Growing Concern for Cities Facing Wildfires

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Brittany Peterson

As fires continue to burn across Los Angeles, several utilities have declared their drinking water unsafe until extensive testing can prove otherwise.

A warmer, drier climate means wildfires are getting worse, and encroaching on cities — with devastating impact. Toxic chemicals from those burns can get into damaged drinking water systems, and even filtering or boiling won’t help, experts say.

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