Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s skepticism about fluoride has become a focal point in the debate about whether he’s suitable to run the nation’s health department.
His pledge that the Trump administration would “advise all U.S. systems to remove fluoride from public water” has sparked outcry among dentists and some public health experts who say that fluoridated water is safe and essential for protecting oral health in children.
A board member of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has been censured for making a racist remark about an Arab American employee.
The MWD board of directors voted to censure John Morris, a member representing the city of San Marino, after an investigation found that he used a racist term when he referred to a staff member at a board event last year. The district said the investigation was conducted in response to an anonymous complaint and determined that Morris’ remark violated the MWD’s antidiscrimination policy.
On a May afternoon, customers fill empty five-gallon jugs at vending machines beside the front door of the Aqua Bar water store in Escondido. Inside, the store’s owner chats with regulars turning the faucets at two large metal sinks. Customers come and go, wheeling carts full of newly-filled containers out to the trunks or flat-beds of waiting cars.
Aqua Bar is roughly in the middle of a neighborhood that could be the water vending machine capital of San Diego County.
An invasive species in the San Joaquin County Delta is putting water officials on high alert.
Despite its name, the golden mussel isn’t native to the Golden State, but instead to Southeast Asia. Now, some lake boat ramps and launches are closed, to try and keep the invasive species at bay.
Continued funding for a giant underground tunnel that would reroute part of drought-prone California’s water supply was approved by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
The $142 million in funds for pre-construction and planning costs is key to the Delta Conveyance Project, which state officials have described as critical to water supplies and transport around the state due to aging infrastructure and climate change-related shifts in precipitation.
The Padre Dam Municipal Water District swore in Kim Hales as its newest member of the Board of Directors on December 9, 2024. Incumbent director Suzanne Till was also sworn in for her second term on the District’s Board of Directors, and will continue serving as the Board’s Vice President.
Hales and Till were elected by their constituents during the November 2024 general election to serve for a four-year term on the Board. Director Till will represent Division 2. Director Hales will represent Division 4.
“I welcome Director Hales and returning Director Till to serving these newly elected terms on the Padre Dam Board of Directors. They will each contribute their own perspectives to the Board as representatives of our community while the Board continues to successfully serve and meet the mission of the District for customers,” shared Board President Bill Pommering.
An overhead view of construction progress on the East County Advanced Water Purification program Education Center. Photo: East County AWP
Hales is an Alpine resident, who owns and enjoys a 23-acre ranch with her husband Steve, a retired United States Navy Captain. Together, they manage and care for goats, chickens, dogs, gardens and open space habitat. She holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science Degrees in Biology. She has been a Professor of Biology at Cuyamaca College for the last 20 years, and served as interim Dean of Math, Science and Engineering for just under three of those years.
Hales spent much of her professional life on the ocean studying dolphins, marine birds and sharks. She also previously worked as an Animal Handler at the San Diego Zoo.
“I look forward to serving on the Padre Dam Board and utilizing my science background to ensure a sustainable water supply future for decades to come. Water is key to all lives and I am happy to be a part of managing this important resource responsibly,” said Director Hales.
Till was elected her first four-year term in November 2020, and in August 2023, she was named Board Vice President. Till grew up in Lakeside and has lived in Santee for over three decades.
Till is a United States Marine Corps veteran and a former Professor of Geography at Cuyamaca and Southwestern Colleges. She currently teaches geography at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Chula Vista. She has a Ph.D. in Water Resources Geography from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Masters in Geography and Urban Planning from San Diego State University.
“I am honored to have this opportunity to continue to serve the constituents of Division 2 in Santee. I look forward to representing them to make sure water affordability is top of mind. I am also looking forward to seeing the East County AWP Project completed,” commented Director Till.
Directors Till and Hales will serve four-year terms ending in December 2028.
Padre Dam provides water, sewer, recycled water, and recreation services to approximately 102,000 residents in East San Diego County, including Santee, El Cajon, Lakeside, Flinn Springs, Harbison Canyon, Blossom Valley, Alpine, Dehesa, and Crest. The District is a public agency with policies and procedures directed by an elected five-member Board of Directors. The District imports 100% of our treated water
supply and treats two million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater at our Water Recycling Facility.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has publicly commended the San Diego County Water Authority’s (SDCWA) latest move to diminish ratepayer costs through a fresh water-saving agreement. Gloria highlighted the agency’s collaborative effort at the Colorado River Users Association conference, resulting in a significant $20 million savings for regional ratepayers.
Gusting Santa Ana winds will again batter much of Southern California Monday and into mid-week, raising concerns about potential wildfires.
A red flag warning of critical fire danger conditions will be in effect until 4 a.m. Wednesday for the San Diego County mountains and inland valleys.
Seven Western states that depend on the Colorado River are ending the year at an impasse in negotiations over the writing of new rules for dealing with chronic water shortages.
Representatives of California and other states who attended an annual Colorado River conference in Las Vegas last week said they remain deadlocked in their talks on long-term plans for reducing water use to prevent the river’s reservoirs from reaching critically low levels.
The country’s biggest water supplier is set to vote tomorrow on whether to fund one of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top priorities on water — and he’s not leaving the result up to chance.
Newsom and his top aides are leaning on board members and top staff at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to approve additional funding to plan and permit the Delta Conveyance Project, a version of which has been floating around — first as a canal, then a pair of tunnels — for more than half a century.
