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OMWD Acknowledged for Financial Reporting Excellence for Twenty-Third Consecutive Year

Encinitas, Calif. — Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Finance Manager, Rainy Selamat, presented the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada at the June 20 board of directors meeting. This award recognizes OMWD’s comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017 and is the twenty-third consecutive year OMWD has received the award.

Proposition 68 Brings Critical Funding for Salton Sea and Sends Message to the State

In a vote that was as important for its message as the funding it appropriates, California voters on June 5 supported Proposition 68, the $4.1 billion water bond that specifically included $200 million for Salton Sea restoration. That funding will support the ten-year phase one list of projects under the state’s Salton Sea restoration plan known as the Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP).

Coupled with $80 million for the sea from a previous bond, the $200 million moves the state closer to achieving its ten-year target of addressing 30,000 acres of exposed playa. Another water bond scheduled for the November election includes an additional $200 million for the sea to completely fund phase one of the SSMP.

Passage of Proposition 68, which voters in San Diego and Imperial County both supported, advances the SSMP at a time when there is growing concern on the state’s ability to build air quality and habitat projects to meet annual targets for playa coverage. In fact, the state has acknowledged the 2018 target of 500 acres will not be met. However, that delay is mainly due to finalizing land liability issues rather than a lack of funding. State officials working on the sea have indicated they are close to settling those issues and anticipate progress will be expedited once the necessary legal agreements are resolved. The passage of Proposition 68 means the state will be in an even better position to make up for lost time so targets can be achieved going forward.

The “yes” vote by California voters also sends an important message to the state that since additional resources have been allocated for restoration at the sea, better progress on meeting the established milestones is expected more than ever. Voters have armed the state with funding to push the SSMP forward, and it now falls upon the state to meet its responsibilities. According to the state’s SSMP ten-year planning committee meeting last week, there is a solid list of projects ready to move forward toward meeting annual targets. Those projects include ones that have been touted before, plus new projects state officials have added, at least one of which they say can be accomplished at a faster rate. Long heralded projects include the state’s Species Conservation Habitat (SCH) project. Phase one of that project, which is already funded, will address 640 acres, but with the funding from Proposition 68, additional phases of the SCH are expected to move forward. At total build-out, the SCH would address nearly 4,000 acres along the southern shore of the sea. Another project set to move forward by the year’s end is the 500-acre wetlands at Red Hill Marina on the southern shore.

According to state officials, a new 290-acre project on the southern shore will be developed as wetlands on the site of a planned geothermal project. Additional projects are planned for the northern shore under a perimeter lake proposal from Riverside County, and at least one project is under development near the communities closest to the sea.

The passage of Proposition 68 also comes as the state has begun the effort to consider longer term projects as well. Part of that effort has included a request for proposals for importing a new source of water supply to the Salton Sea. As many as 11 conceptual proposals were submitted, most of which involve importing water from Mexico, and were introduced during a recent public forum in Imperial County. Proposition 68 funding is not expected to go toward water importation projects. While the state plans to evaluate water importation proposals as a possible long-term effort, the current focus is on implementing the first ten years of the SSMP and getting projects on the ground to address air quality and habitat.

While it is likely concerns about the state’s progress will continue, thanks to California voters, the state now has the opportunity to prove the delays of the past will not continue and that there will be real headway toward addressing restoration. Additionally, state officials indicated at last week’s SSMP ten-year planning committee meeting that they intend to apply lessons learned thus far to other projects to help expedite implementation of the SSMP, understanding though, that each project is distinct as well. Now is the time for stakeholders to remain even more vigilant to make sure the pendulum swings toward greater progress.

 

 

 

 

Sweetwater Authority Awards WEEP Grant to Living Coast Discovery Center

Sweetwater Authority presented a $5,000 award check to the Living Coast Discovery Center at its June 13 board meeting as part of the Authority’s Water Efficiency Education Program (WEEP) grant program. The grant helped fund three events highlighting both organizations’ mutual goal of educating the public about water conservation.

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La Mesa, San Diego Residents Take Top Honors in Regional Photo Contest

San Diego, Calif. – A beauty shot of an East Count reservoir and a portrait of a young couple at Sunset Cliffs took the top prizes in the San Diego County Water Authority’s “Brought to You by Water” photo contest during Water Awareness Month in May.

The Water Authority is in the final stages of the Lake Murray to Sweetwater Reservoir Pipeline 3 Relining Project, including the restoration of roadways to pre-construction condition. La Mesa Relining Project

La Mesa Relining Project on Pace for Completion in June

Major construction activities have concluded at a pipeline relining project in La Mesa and Spring Valley, and the entire project is on track for completion by the end of June.

The Lake Murray to Sweetwater Reservoir Pipeline 3 Relining Project rehabilitated 4.3 miles of 66- and 69-inch diameter pipes, extending the pipeline’s service life by several decades and helping ensure continued water system reliability.

The timely success of the project underscores the value of collaboration by the Water Authority’s project team; public agency stakeholders such as the city of La Mesa and Helix Water District; and the contractor, L.H. Woods & Sons, Inc.

Construction began in September 2017. The bulk of the work was performed underground, through portals, which allow easy access to the pipe. This process is about half the cost of a conventional pipeline replacement project and is less disruptive to the environment and surrounding communities.

Project part of larger Water Authority effort

The 4.3-mile project is part of a larger effort by the Water Authority to rehabilitate 82 miles of its pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe installed between the early 1960s and 80s throughout the county. This type of pipe has been found to be less reliable than previously thought. In response, the Water Authority launched the Pipeline Relining Program to reinforce these pipes with steel liners, increasing their service life by 75 years or more.

With the last of the new steel liners installed, welded, grouted and lined with cement mortar, the remaining work includes site restoration – such as re-paving and re-striping roadways – and demobilizing.

With the completion of the Lake Murray to Sweetwater project, the Water Authority has rehabilitated more than half of its pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe.

Santa Fe Irrigation District Celebrates the San Dieguito Dam’s Centennial and Dedication of New Pump Station

Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. – On May 30, 2018, the Santa Fe Irrigation District and the San Dieguito Water District celebrated the San Dieguito Reservoir Dam’s 100 year anniversary and the dedication of the new San Dieguito Reservoir Pump Station. Jointly owned by the Santa Fe Irrigation District and the San Dieguito Water District, the San Dieguito Reservoir Dam and the San Dieguito Pump Station are important assets providing local water for over 60,000 customers in the North Central Region of San Diego.

Lake Mead and Lake Powell – which provide storage for the Lower Basin states of Nevada, Arizona and California – are about 51 percent full. Photo: SDCWA Drought Talks

Bureau Executive Makes Case for Renewing Drought Talks in Colorado Basin

El Centro, Calif. – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda W. Burman delivered a sobering message about the risks facing the Colorado River system and the need for action considering long-term drought conditions during an Imperial Irrigation District Board meeting on May 22.

In her first presentation to the IID Board of Directors since her confirmation as commissioner in November, Burman said it’s time to restart the stalled basin-wide drought contingency planning talks to address the threat of shortage on the river. Her discussion was filled with stark predictions for the river system should drought conditions continue, along with hopeful notes that worst-case shortage scenarios could be averted through conservation efforts.

Terry Fulp, the bureau’s regional director of the Lower Colorado River Basin, joined Burman at the IID meeting. Fulp said Lake Mead and Lake Powell – which provide storage for the Lower Basin states of Nevada, Arizona and California – are about 51 percent full.

Both lakes were near capacity in 1999, then dropped by half in just five years. That sudden loss of storage led to the development of the interim guidelines for managing a shortage on the river in 2007. In the years since, Fulp said, the river system has met demands despite the ongoing drought.

However, a shortage declaration may be triggered in the next two years because Lake Mead is barely over 1075 feet above sea level, the point at which a shortage could be declared. Fulp said Lake Mead would likely already be below the 1075-foot mark if not for conservation efforts across the Colorado River Basin.

Call to action on the river

Burman said she recognizes that drought contingency discussions have “fallen off,” but she said they need to start again with the goal of expanding conservation efforts throughout the river system. She said actions taken now will benefit water users today and serve the needs of the river system decades into the future, just as water users today benefit from the actions of the pioneers who built the system under the Boulder Canyon Act of 1928

“There absolutely needs to be action on the Colorado River,” she said. “The risk is too great.”

Under questioning from IID board members, Burman said “there is room” in drought contingency discussions to include additional storage for IID in Lake Mead (which IID has advocated for), and there could be flexibility in how that storage water is created.

When pressed on the Salton Sea, Burman said a memorandum of understanding between the state and federal governments remains in effect to address issues at the sea. She added that the federal government remains committed to the MOU even though the state is leading ongoing Salton Sea restoration efforts.

Burman said time will tell if drought contingency talks restart and whether agencies can reach agreement on the critical issues related to conservation and storage. To the extent that there is additional water conservation in the Imperial Valley, that likely would reduce flows to the Salton Sea – and that in turn would raise important questions about how reduced inflows would be mitigated to minimize impacts on sea levels.

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Water Authority Earns Regional Awards for Construction Project

San Diego, Calif. – The regional chapter of the American Public Works Association today conferred two Project of the Year awards on the San Diego County Water Authority for a pipeline upgrade in Scripps Ranch and a rebuilt pump station near Miramar Reservoir, both of which will help ensure reliable water deliveries across the San Diego region.

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Region United To Oppose State’s $135 Million Per Year Water Tax Proposal

San Diego, Calif. – Business, civic, and water industry officials from across San Diego County have joined forces to oppose a proposed $135 million per year tax on drinking water in California that would harm ratepayers and likely result in a flood of additional taxes on the state’s most precious natural resource.

Water Authority Chairman Mark Muir (center) speaks to reporters at a news conference of regional leaders announcing their opposition to a proposed state water tax. Photo: Water Authority

San Diego County Coalition of Leaders Opposes Tax on Drinking Water

A coalition of business, civic and water industry officials from across San Diego County has joined forces to oppose a proposed $135 million per year tax on drinking water in California that would harm ratepayers and likely result in a flood of additional taxes on the state’s most precious natural resource.

During a news conference this morning at the County Administration Center, regional leaders offered other funding solutions to improve water quality in poor, rural areas of the state without adding another tax burden to residents in one of the nation’s most expensive states.

See video highlights of the news conference here.

Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, chairwoman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, joined officials from the San Diego County Water Authority and several of its member agencies, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, the Industrial Environmental Association, and several other groups. In all, more than 30 agencies and organizations across the region have signed a letter to legislative leaders opposing the drinking water tax plan.

Encinitas City Councilmember Mark Muir, chair of the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors and a member of the San Dieguito Water District Board, warned that the current water tax proposal would set a dangerous precedent. “It would be the camel’s nose under the tent; what begins as a modest increase could quickly grow larger and larger as more projects and programs try to get into the tent,” he said. “We’ve already seen proposals in Sacramento that could add more than $15 a month to residential water bills.”

The tax proposal is being advanced through Senate Bill 623 by state Sen. William Monning (Carmel) and a Brown Administration budget trailer bill related to safe drinking water. The drinking water tax would initially raise about $135 million a year to help provide clean, safe water in disadvantaged communities, mostly in the Central and Salinas valleys, where groundwater has been contaminated by farming operations. In addition, approximately $22 million would be generated by a tax on fertilizer and confined dairy facilities. State legislators are expected to vote on the tax by mid-June, though the issue could extend into late summer.

Read More:

Fox 5 San Diego: Local Leaders Protest Plan to Tax Tap Water

CBS 8 News: County Water Authority Opposes Drinking Water Tax

NBC 7 San Diego: Calif. Water Tax Proposal Faces Opposition From Local Leaders

KGTV 10 News: Proposed California Tap Water Tax Meets Opposition

KPBS Radio: San Diego Leaders Gather To Oppose Water Tax