Encinitas, Calif. — Olivenhain Municipal Water District began serving recycled water to the Del Rayo Downs Homeowner Association in Rancho Santa Fe this week. The conversion to recycled water enables the HOA to save money on its monthly water bill while decreasing imported water demand by approximately 17.5 acre-feet annually. An acre-foot is enough to serve two typical families of four for a year.
State and federal dignitaries praised retiring San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Maureen Stapleton today for decades of public service and her achievements in securing safe and reliable water supplies for the region.
Stapleton announced her retirement from the Water Authority earlier this month, prompting several commendations during the Water Authority Board of Directors regular February meeting.
California U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a letter that she valued Stapleton’s expertise on water issues. “During your more than 40 years of public service, you have demonstrated a deep commitment to your profession and the region,” wrote Feinstein. “Under your skilled leadership, the Water Authority successfully developed water storage and conservation projects and oversaw construction of the nation’s largest desalination plant.
“Although your presence will be greatly missed, I am confident that your record of hard work and dedication will serve as a model for those who follow in your footsteps.”
In a California legislative resolution, elected leaders representing San Diego County lauded Stapleton “for her long and distinguished record of professional service and for her outstanding civic leadership.”
The resolution highlighted Stapleton’s many achievements over 23 years at the helm of the Water Authority, including successfully negotiating the landmark 2003 Colorado River Quantification Settlement Agreement. It is the nation’s largest ag-to-urban water conservation-and-transfer agreement, and it remains a cornerstone of water management in the Southwest.
“As General Manager, Maureen Stapleton oversaw the greatest investment in large-scale regional water infrastructure in San Diego County history, including the first major new dam and reservoir in 50 years and the nation’s largest seawater desalination plant – an investment that provides significant protections for the San Diego region in the event of imported water supply emergencies and droughts.”
Under Stapleton’s guidance, the Water Authority also implemented cutting-edge urban water conservation programs that have helped to reduce per capita water use in the San Diego region by more than 40 percent since 1990. The Water Authority also significantly increased water supply protections for the region during droughts or other emergencies with $3.5 billion in investments. And, the Water Authority partnered with Poseidon Water to develop the largest seawater desalination plant in the nation.
Former California Gov. Pete Wilson, who was in office during peak drought years in the early 1990s, highlighted Stapleton’s leadership during that time to create a safe, stable and reliable water supply for the region.
“The history of San Diego has always been about the struggle to create an adequate and reliable water supply,” Wilson said. “But today, that story has a new chapter, written by Maureen and her team at the Water Authority. Their success in building a highly reliable water supply that fuels San Diego’s robust economy and supports a quality of life envied the world over has been nothing short of remarkable and historic. She refused to just suffer drought.”
San Diego Rep. Scott Peters honored Stapleton with a Congressional Proclamation on behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives and the constituents of the 52nd Congressional District “for her lifelong contributions, exemplary leadership, and service to the San Diego region.”
The proclamation said: “She led a successful, multi-decade strategy to diversify and improve the reliability of San Diego County’s water supply, which now supports at $220 billion economy and the qualify of life for 3.3 million people; she transformed the Water Authority into a pioneering, visionary, agile, and driven public agency; and she has been a pillar of San Diego civic life for decades through service on several boards and foundations.”
Encinitas, Calif.—The Association of California Water Agencies recognized Olivenhain Municipal Water District today with its “Most Effective Agency on Federal Issues” award. The award was presented to OMWD General Manager Kimberly Thorner at ACWA’s annual conference in Washington, DC.
Atmospheric river events in late January and in February have significantly increased snowpack in the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains, key sources of water supply for the state and San Diego County.
“We’re thrilled by the amount of precipitation – rain and snow – in San Diego County, the Sierra and the Rockies,” said Dana Friehauf, a resource manager with the San Diego County Water Authority.
The statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack was 151 percent of normal at 104 reporting stations for February 27, according to the California Department of Water Resources. The Rockies have received significant snowfall, which will feed the Colorado River, a source of water supply for the Water Authority. The amount of precipitation in most of the Rocky Mountain region, has ranged from 100 to 150 percent for Water Year 2019 through February 25, according to data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The percentage is based on the median between 1981 and 2010.
As a result of the atmospheric river weather phenomenon, California has experienced higher than average rainfall in water year 2019. Graphic: National Weather Service
Locally, a bountiful February has helped make Water Year 2019 one of the wettest on record at Lindbergh Field. Preliminary data from the National Weather Service indicates 10.62 inches of precipitation at the San Diego International Airport, with 3.42 inches coming so far in February 2019.
The Weather Service report issued Feb. 24 also shows that last year at this time, just 1.91 inches of precipitation had been recorded at the airport (for Water Year 2018).
In fact, Water Year 2018 (October 1 – September 30) was the second-driest on record since 1850 at Lindbergh Field, with just 3.3 inches of rain, or 32 percent of the long-term average.
Friehauf reminds San Diegans that even in years such as this, when rainfall is plentiful, that water-use efficiency remains a way of life. For instance, each rainstorm is an opportunity to turn off irrigation systems for days or even weeks at a time. She also suggests residents use rain barrels to collect or “harvest” water that can be used later, when the weather is drier.
Capturing the water from gutters and downspouts also reduces the amount of water flowing into storm drains. Homeowners can get rebates on residential rain barrels. Find details on rain barrel rebates here.
Escondido, Calif. – In the last several years, water bottles have become commonplace on school campuses as students learned the importance water plays with maintaining good health. However, keeping those water bottles filled throughout the day has been tough, since traditional drinking fountains are not designed for this purpose. So, the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District (Rincon Water) partnered with the Escondido Union School District to install water bottle refill stations, also known as hydration stations, at three Escondido elementary school campuses – Bernardo, Miller, and North Broadway. All three schools receive Rincon Water through their taps.
After 23 years at the helm of the San Diego region’s wholesale water agency, General Manager Maureen Stapleton is stepping down – and leaving an enormous legacy.
“The positive impact of Maureen’s leadership of the Water Authority and management of this region’s water supply cannot be overstated,” said Jim Madaffer, chair of the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors. “She has also been an important leader in our civic affairs for three decades and has dedicated countless hours to the betterment of our entire region. She will be greatly missed.
“Her name is synonymous with water in San Diego – for good reason,” Madaffer said. “Since 1996, Maureen has guided a dynamic agency that continues aggressively developing a comprehensive array of water supply and infrastructure projects designed to diversify the region’s water resources and improve the region’s water supply reliability.”
Stapleton announced her plans today to the Board of Directors and staff. Upon Stapleton’s departure, Deputy General Manager Sandy Kerl, who has more than 25 years of experience in public administration including a decade at the Water Authority, will be the acting general manager while a search for the Water Authority’s next general manager is under way.
“The success of the Water Authority over the past two decades is testament to the vision of the Board of Directors, the passionate commitment and dedication of the Water Authority’s staff and management team, the partnership we forged with our 24 member agencies, and the unwavering support of the San Diego region’s civic leaders,” Stapleton said. “I am immensely proud of our shared accomplishments, and I will greatly miss my Water Authority colleagues and esprit de corps we shared carrying out the Water Authority’s mission to provide our region with a safe and reliable water supply.”
‘Instrumental in the growth and development of our region’
Former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, now President and Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, called Stapleton “instrumental in the growth and development of our region. Under Maureen’s leadership, the Water Authority has helped propel San Diego’s economy by ensuring our region has a diversified, highly reliable water supply – and the infrastructure system needed to produce and treat water, store it, and deliver it to millions of San Diegans.”
Stapleton’s career includes many milestones, including successfully negotiation the landmark 2003 Colorado River Quantification Settlement Agreement, the nation’s largest farm-to-urban water conservation-and-transfer agreement that remains a cornerstone of water management in the Southwest.
Under her guidance, the Water Authority implemented cutting-edge urban water conservation programs that have helped to reduce per capita water use in the San Diego region by more than 40 percent since 1990.
In 2013, the Water Authority won the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies’ Platinum Award for Utility Excellence, the organization’s highest honor for outstanding achievement in implementing nationally recognized best practices for effective utility management. Three years later, AMWA bestowed its Sustainable Water Utility Management Award on the Water Authority, saying the agency’s “sustainability mindset saves ratepayers money, reduces the environmental impacts of projects and operations, conserves energy and water, and helps the agency thrive in a changing climate.”
Agency mission and projects continue to move ahead
In 2017, the Association of California Water Agencies presented the Water Authority with the Clair A. Hill Water Agency Award for Excellence for innovation and excellence in water resources management with its addition of supplies from the Carlsbad Desalination Project – the largest seawater desalination plant in the Americas.
The same year, the Water Authority won the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award – the top international engineering award – for having the foresight and dedication to build the Emergency & Carryover Storage Project. That $1.5 billion system of dams, reservoirs, pump stations, pipelines and tunnels, to protect the region’s 3.3 million people and $220 billion economy from extended dry periods or emergencies that could disrupt imported water deliveries.
Said Madaffer: “While Maureen’s departure will leave a significant hole, I’m confident in the leadership team that we have assembled both on the Board of Directors at the senior staff level so that the important work of the Water Authority will continue with the same diligence as it has for decades.”
Encinitas, Calif.—To encourage water conservation and reduce runoff that can carry pollutants into local waterways and beaches, Olivenhain Municipal Water District has partnered with Carlsbad Municipal Water District, San Dieguito Water District, and Santa Fe Irrigation District to offer discounted rain barrels to area residents. Rain barrels ordered by February 26 will be available for pick up at Solana Center for Environmental Innovation on March 2, between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. The center is located at 137 North El Camino Real in Encinitas.
New research shows shorter periods of winter weather are altering snowpack melt times, with potentially significant implications for water management and wildfires.
Associate Professor Amato Evan at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography analyzed snowpack data from 1982 through 2017, publishing his analysis in the December Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, and presenting his findings at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Evan found no decline in snowfall totals overall, but he discovered snow in mountainous regions is disappearing earlier in the year – in line with earlier projections and modeling. California and other western states rely heavily on snowfall and snowpack for water. When the snowpack melts, it fills reservoirs, a vital resource for cities and farms.
If snowmelt occurs more quickly than normal, it could result in reservoirs filling earlier in the winter or spring. If that dynamic isn’t managed correctly, it could result in losing water supply when the reservoirs overflow. Evan noted California would be among the most-affected states.
Three decades of investments to diversify the San Diego region’s water supply sources with seawater desalination, recycled water and other supplies have lessened the local impact of snowpack variations, said Dana Friehauf, water resources manager for the San Diego County Water Authority. The San Diego region relies on snowmelt in the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada, along with a variety of local water resources. In addition, the Water Authority has expanded local water storage by raising San Vicente Dam and more than doubling the reservoir’s capacity. That allows the region to hold more imported supplies during wet years to prepare for dry ones.
“By increasing water-use efficiency and investing in drought-resilient supplies and local storage, the San Diego region is less susceptible to changes in snowmelt,” said Friehauf. “But climatic shifts likely will be an important factor in water management across the West for years to come.”
Evan used data for his research collected from a network of over 400 snow telemetry sensors across the western U.S. The sensors compress and expand as snow falls and melts, measuring the weight of the snowpack throughout the season. Evan developed a mathematical expression he could apply to the observations which can identify trends in snowpack variations over the course of the winter season.
Evan found two key changes in mountain snowpack consistent across the western U.S. First, warmer fall and spring seasons are “squeezing” winters, making them shorter from a weather perspective.
Second, higher elevations are showing snowpack characteristics normally found at lower altitudes, with a gradual build up and gradual decline. This translates into less snow and earlier melts. While this has been shown in climate model simulations, the Scripps study is the first time it has been observed. Evan’s findings are consistent with numerous other methods of measuring changes in the seasons.
“The power of this work was the ability to examine how and why snowpack is changing throughout the year,” Evan said in a Scripps news release. “In terms of freshwater in the West, the total amount of snow we receive during the year is important, but how long into the spring that snow stays frozen up in the mountains is also critical.”
The Scripps research was supported by funding from the Climate Program Office at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A remarkable series of winter storms in January and early February has doubled the Sierra Nevada snowpack and recharged reservoirs across the state of California. With more rain and snow in the forecast, California’s water supply picture is far better than it was a year ago, when San Diego received the second-lowest amount of rainfall on record since 1850.
In San Diego County, Lindbergh Field has recorded more than nine inches of rain since October 1, which is nearly the average annual rainfall of 10.33 inches, according to the National Weather Service. More storms are on the way: NWS has forecast more showers in the next few weeks.
Some of the wettest local spots include Mt. Woodson, which received 4.34 inches of rain in the past five days, Lower Oat Flats with 4.08 inches, Rainbow Camp with 3.6 inches, and Fallbrook and Bonsall each with 3.41 inches.
Local rainfall is important, because it allows residents and farmers to reduce or eliminate irrigation for weeks or months at time while Mother Nature does the work. In addition, local surface water meets about 10 percent of San Diego’s annual water needs. From a supply perspective, it is much more important snowpacks continue to grow in the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada.
Surveyors with the California Department of Water Resources recorded 50 inches of snow and a “snow water equivalent” of 18 inches on January 31 at Phillips Station, where DWR has conducted manual snow surveys for decades.
This was the second of five snow surveys planned for this winter. More than 50 agencies at the local, state and federal levels collaborate on the Cooperative Snow Surveys Program to collect snow data from more than 300 locations statewide each year. Results from these surveys are crucial to water management in California.
The most recent survey at Phillips Station showed the snowpack as 98 percent of average to date – just shy of the statewide average. By comparison, on February 1, 2018, measurements at Phillips Station showed a snow water equivalent of 2.6 inches – just 14 percent of the early-February average. Snow water equivalent is a standard metric of how much water is held in snow.
In the Upper Colorado River Basin, conditions are slightly better than they are in California – a good sign for a region that has suffered nearly two decades of drought. Precipitation and snow water equivalent were both at 105 percent of average at the end of January.
No shortages are expected on the Colorado River system in 2019, though long-term drought conditions continue to be a concern across the Southwest.
The National Weather Service reports that between Oct. 1, 2018, and Feb. 6, 2019, San Diego County received more than nine inches of rain at Lindbergh Field, which was 165 percent of normal, and more than 11 inches of rain at Ramona Airport, which was 142 percent of normal.
“This winter is shaping up nicely,” said Jeff Stephenson, a principal water resources specialist at the San Diego County Water Authority. “A well-timed string of storms and cooler temperatures is allowing us to leave water in storage for use during the dry summer months – and it’s important that everyone continue to leave off their irrigation systems while there’s plenty of water in the soil.”
No matter how the winter plays out, the Water Authority and its 24 member agencies have enough water to meet regional water demands for the foreseeable future. This is made possible by a combination of investments in drought-resilient resources, including the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, conserved agricultural water transfers and continued water-use efficiency measures.
Encinitas, Calif.—Olivenhain Municipal Water District and San Dieguito Water District have partnered to offer a free WaterSmart Landscape Design Workshop. The event will be held Tuesday, February 19, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Encinitas Community Center, located at 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive in Encinitas.
