Spring Valley, Calif. – At its Oct. 3 meeting, the Otay Water District Board approved an overall average sewer rate decrease of seven percent for 2019. The rate decrease will take effect with sewer service billed on or after January 1, 2019, and may apply to sewer service used as early as the beginning of December 2018.
General Dynamics NASSCO – one of the San Diego region’s largest employers – hosted Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer and Jesse Gipe, senior economic development manager for the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp., for national Manufacturing Day on Oct. 5 as part of a partnership to promote the importance of a safe and reliable water supply to sustain the local economy. The partnership was forged during the Water Authority’s Brought to You by Water outreach and education program, which includes stakeholders from key industry sectors such as tourism, manufacturing, brewing and agriculture.
Escondido — The 2018 North County Water Symposium on Wednesday highlighted efforts by the San Diego County Water Authority to ensure regional water reliability for a crowd of about 100 North County business and industry leaders.
Keynote speaker Jim Madaffer, the Water Authority’s newly elected board Chair, reviewed the Water Authority’s historic achievements in water supply diversification. He also discussed continued regional development of water recycling capacity and investments in technology to maintain billions of dollars worth of water infrastructure.
“As the Water Authority approaches our 75th year,” said Madaffer, “we are doing everything we can … to make sure that we have a resilient water supply for the region.”
The symposium was organized by the San Diego North Economic Development Council. It featured a panel discussion on water supply and reliability for San Diego North County, with a focus on agriculture and housing. Panelists were Greg Thomas, general manager of Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District; Cari Dale, water utilities director for the City of Oceanside; Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau; and Michael McSweeney, senior public policy advisor for the San Diego Building Industry Association.
Larson highlighted efforts by farmers to increase water-use efficiency and advance recycled water use to support their multi-billion dollar industry. McSweeney said the building industry improves water efficiency when it replaces decades-old homes with new homes that use less water and less energy thanks to modern technologies.
Larson and Thomas say their respective industries share a similar challenge. Larson said fewer young adults today choose farming careers. Thomas expressed the same concerns about the water industry. “There is so much emphasis among high school students on going to college, we aren’t training enough water technology employees” to replace a “silver tsunami” of retiring Baby Boomers, he said.
Madaffer and the panelists agreed that continued dialogue and coordinated efforts among the North County region’s leaders across all economic sectors can drive economic growth while ensuring water efficiency and reliability.
At the start of the 2019 water year, the combination of diversified water supplies and water-use efficiency means the San Diego region has enough water for 2019 and the foreseeable future despite historically low rainfall over the past 12 months.
“It has been very hot and dry, but we have invested wisely in infrastructure and regional water-use remains well below where it was at the start of the last drought,” said Jeff Stephenson, a principal water resources specialist with the Water Authority. “In fact, potable water use over the past three-plus years was 17 percent below 2013, which shows that San Diego continues to live WaterSmart.”
Still, said Stephenson, “we are looking for a wet winter locally, and in the Sierra and Rocky Mountains, to help replenish reserves for future years.”
Water managers use “water years” that run from October 1 through September 30 to track rain and snow. Local rainfall during water year 2018 totaled just over 3 inches at Lindbergh Field – 67 percent below normal and the second-lowest in San Diego history dating back to 1850.
In addition, local temperatures have been significantly above normal for most of the past five years. In many of those months, the average daily maximum temperatures were more than 4 degrees above long-term averages.
The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts continued warm conditions for California through December, with a 33 percent probability of above-normal precipitation locally. The U.S. Drought Monitor’s classification of San Diego County as an area of “Severe Drought” is based on weather factors – but it does not reflect water supply conditions.
More than $3.5 billion in regional water investments by San Diego County ratepayers over the past three decades mean water supplies will meet demands regardless of the weather.
New supplies and infrastructure upgrades include the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, which delivers approximately 50 million gallons of potable water per day for regional use, along with a ramp-up of water delivered to San Diego County as part of a long-term water conservation and transfer deal signed in 2003.
Other regional assets include the storage of 100,000 acre-feet of water behind the raised San Vicente Dam due to conservation efforts during the last drought. In addition, many key reservoirs statewide, including Diamond Valley Lake in Riverside County, remain near average levels for this time of year. Significantly, no shortages are expected on the Colorado River system in 2019, though long-term drought conditions continue to be a concern across the Southwestern U.S.
The Water Authority offers several programs, including a Landscape Transformation program rebate, to promote water-use efficiency. Residents and business can also attend free sustainable landscaping classes, and access online videos and tips. To learn more about those resources and others, go to WaterSmartSD.org.
Fallbrook, Calif. – The parking lot at the Sandia Creek trailhead was supposed to be 150 feet under water, if everything had gone as planned.
The land was supposed to be flooded and turned into a dam. That would have made for some beautiful lakefront property in Fallbrook.
But things didn’t quite turn out as planned back in the 1960s when Fallbrook Public Utility District purchased 1,384 acres of rural property there.
The intent was to dam the Santa Margarita River and share the water with Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
But many things got in the way of that plan. War happened. Leadership faces changed. There was lack of urgency and funding. Legal issues over water rights ensued. And environmental interests began to grow with the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act.
Since that time, the property has remained untouched and more than 18 miles of hiking trails have developed. Those trails have become a cornerstone in Fallbrook, attracting up to 80,000 hikers and horseback riders each year.
Earlier this year, FPUD agreed to sell the land to Wildlands Conservancy for $10 million. The two entities are currently in escrow.
Assemblymember Marie Waldron presented the district’s board of directors with a certificate of recognition for successfully preserving the land. She also presented the Wildlands Conservancy and the Fallbrook Trails council with certificates. Photo: FPUD
Selling the land to a conservancy ensures the popular Fallbrook hiking destination will remain preserved and open to the public forever, something the FPUD board of directors insisted upon before agreeing to sell the land. Thanks to a carefully crafted sales and legal agreement, the land can never be turned into a housing development or anything other than the trails.
This money, along with construction of the Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project, will help mitigate long-term water costs. The Conjunctive Use Project is a local water project 66 years in the making. Once built, it will provide about a third of FPUD’s water.
Having local water will help stabilize the cost of water for customers. The local water will be less expensive than buying imported water, which travels over 400 miles to get to Fallbrook, and continues to rise in cost each year. Currently, FPUD buys 100 percent imported water. Over time, the project will provide rate relief to FPUD customers.
The all-volunteer Fallbrook Trails Council has been maintaining the hiking trails for the past 20 years and will continue to maintain and oversee them once escrow closes. FPUD and Wildlands expect escrow to close by the end of the year.
Wildlands will have a dedicated full-time staff person. Zach Kantor-Anaya will be the manager of the trails preserve. Wildlands Conservancy maintains California’s largest nonprofit preserve system, emphasizing education and recreational use of conservation land.
When I started my term as board chair of the San Diego County Water Authority in October 2016, California was mired in drought but the San Diego region had sufficient supplies regardless of the weather.
Thankfully, just a few months later, epic rain and snow significantly improved water supply conditions statewide, but not before validating our long-term strategy to develop a drought-resilient portfolio of water resources that protect the region during dry times. In fact, we had enough water to store 100,000 acre-feet of water for the future – a testament to regional foresight, coordination, hard work and investments by ratepayers.
Being able to assure residents and businesses that we had sufficient supplies to sustain our economy and quality of life was the biggest accomplishment of my two-year term as chair, which came to an end on September 30.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today recognized the San Diego County Water Authority with a 2018 WaterSense Excellence Award for advancing water efficiency through its Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) program. The Water Authority received one of 21 WaterSense awards presented at the WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas.
Spring Valley, CA – Today, Board member of the Otay Water District Gary Croucher, officially will begin to serve his two-year term as Vice Chair of the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors. At its Sept. 27 meeting, the Water Authority Board unanimously elected Croucher as incoming Vice Chair, along with Jim Madaffer from the City of San Diego as incoming Chair and Christy Guerin from Olivenhain Municipal Water District as incoming Secretary.
Encinitas, CA—Olivenhain Municipal Water District invites local residents to attend a workshop that will cover the fundamentals of landscaping for fire protection. This free event will be held on Thursday, October 18, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve’s Interpretive Center Honoring Susan J. Varty.
In an effort to remind regional stakeholders in the business community about the importance of water to San Diego’s regional economy, the San Diego County Water Authority presented its inaugural ‘Water Innovation & Efficiency Award’ to Kyocera International during the Industrial Environmental Association’s 34th annual conference at the San Diego Convention Center on September 28.
Kyocera was honored for its strong commitment to reusing water multiple in its production processes, thereby decreasing its water use by nearly 20 percent since 2014. This conserves more than 6 million gallons per year.
“Water is our most precious natural resource, and it’s so rewarding to see major employers like Kyocera redouble their efforts to use – and re-use – water efficiently,” said Jim Madaffer, whose term as chair of the Water Authority’s Board of Directors starts Oct. 1. “Corporate leadership like this, coupled with investments in water supply reliability, will help sustain our thriving economy and unparalleled quality of life.”
Madaffer presented the award to Kyocera in front of about 250 people at the conference. “There are a lot of folks in the industrial community here in San Diego,” he said. “By Kyocera’s example, we’re hoping that other companies follow their lead, being able to do what they can to save water for all of our region as well.”
Kyocera’s Meridith Marquis, Roger Blankenship and Mark Brodie accepted the award on behalf of the company.“Kyocera’s corporate motto is ‘Respect the Divine and Love People,’ which compels us to manufacture in resource-saving, eco-friendly ways,” said Marquis, divisional vice president for general affairs. “It takes a lot of water to manufacture the technology that surrounds us, and we must act in good conscience to recycle as much of that water as possible. The fact that we can save money while doing this makes it a win-win all around.”
Headquartered in San Diego, Kyocera’s North American operations were established in 1971. Today, the company employs about 625 people locally and manufactures high-tech products such as ceramic semiconductor packages and microelectronic devices at its San Diego plant.
Kyocera has been investing in water-use efficiency at its local plant since 2000, with a marked increase in savings since 2014. Recent water savings result from:
Kyocera achieved significant water savings by installing a basic, off-the-shelf $30 valve allowing the company to repurpose reverse osmosis water that didn’t meet purity standards, and instead use it as cooling water. This single creative adjustment alone saved about 373,000 gallons per month. In all, Kyocera is saving about $62,500 a year in water costs compared to 2014, while upholding its corporate mission to embrace sustainability.
The Water Innovation & Efficiency Award is part of the Water Authority’s Brought to You by Water outreach and education program, designed to enhance the regional appreciation for the value of the safe and reliable water supplies. That effort includes enhanced partnerships to highlight the importance of water reliability to the region’s economy for tourism, agriculture, brewing, manufacturing and other key sectors.
This fall, the Water Authority is focusing on manufacturing companies with “products that put San Diego on the map.” For more information, go to the Brought To You By Water website.
