March 24, 2021 – The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has awarded three San Diego County water agencies a total of $2,788,500 in 2021 WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants. A total of $42.4 million in grants was given to 55 projects across 13 states to improve water reliability and efficiency, conserving more 98,000 acre-feet of water per year.
San Diego County Water Authority crews recently replaced two pickup truck-sized valves at the agency’s Pressure Control and Hydroelectric Facility in central San Diego – each valve weighing about 35,000 pounds.
The replacement project took place during a scheduled shutdown of a portion of Pipeline 5, which delivers untreated water throughout the county. The pressure-control facility is a key piece of the Emergency and Carryover Storage Project, which ensures water is available around the region if imported water deliveries are disrupted.
Several large-diameter valves in the facility control the pressure and quantity of water delivered to reservoirs and water treatment plants in eastern and southern parts of the county. In addition, a hydroelectric turbine in the facility generates supplemental electricity that reduces the Water Authority’s energy costs while supplying surplus power to the region.
“The new valves will allow the facility to function efficiently at both low and high water flows, depending on regional demand,” said Kirk Whitaker, a senior engineer at the Water Authority. “The project is part of ongoing improvements that enhance the flexibility of our regional water delivery system.”
To perform the valve replacement, a large crane lifted the existing valves out of the facility through the roof and placed them onto flatbed trucks for delivery to a disposal and recycling site. The new valves were then lowered into the facility through the roof and fitted with new 42-inch pipeline sections. Concrete was poured to build pedestals that secure the valves in place.
The new valves were produced in Germany and transported to San Diego by ship. The valve installation process took four days to complete.
The Pressure Control and Hydroelectric Facility serves an important function in improving aqueduct operations and enhancing the flexibility of the Water Authority’s extensive water delivery system. The $21 million facility was completed in 2007 and pressurizes a 22-mile-long section of the Water Authority’s large-diameter Pipeline 5 between San Marcos and Mira Mesa.
The pipeline previously conveyed water in one direction only, from north to south, by gravity. This limited the Water Authority’s ability to move water around the county in the event of a supply disruption. Upgrades to Pipeline 5 now allow water to be transported either north or south using water stored at San Vicente Reservoir, which greatly improves pipeline operations and ensures that water can continue flowing to member agencies.
An angler casts a line, hoping for a nibble. Nearby, hikers and equestrians enjoy a morning walk along the water. Overhead, dozens of bird species, some of which are endangered, travel home to their nests made safe by protected areas around the reservoir. This idyllic scene is just another Saturday morning near Sweetwater Reservoir in Spring Valley, Calif.
March 17, 2021, Santee, Calif. – Padre Dam Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors unanimously approved using the recently received $1,157,552 rebate from the San Diego County Water Authority to offset the District’s next pass‐through rate increase from the San Diego County Water Authority. This action will result in a direct benefit to customers by the reduction or potential elimination of a water pass through increase in 2022.
Encinitas, Calif. — Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors accepted at its March 17 meeting the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. The award was presented in recognition of OMWD’s budget for Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022. This is the nineteenth consecutive year OMWD has received this recognition.
All three major rating agencies – S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch – have affirmed the San Diego County Water Authority’s strong credit ratings, which will help the Water Authority optimize its debt portfolio and minimize the cost of financing important water reliability projects.
The reports cited the Water Authority’s strategic management, its conservative approach to water sales projections, and the benefits of the Water Authority’s rate case litigation that recently resulted in $44.4 million being refunded to local retail water agencies – among many other factors.
However, rating agencies also noted significant challenges ahead, including efforts by Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District to “detach” from the Water Authority – a move that could negatively impact ratepayers across San Diego County. If the two North County agencies leave per their plans, Water Authority analysis shows that the other 22 member agencies will have to pay $16 million to $46 million more per year to cover the cost of the departing agencies.
Moody’s said detachment could lead to a credit downgrade, which would increase borrowing costs for critical water reliability projects. S&P Global called detachment uncertainty “an additional credit stressor” – “especially if an approved detachment sets a precedent if members can easily detach from the authority.” S&P added that, “this would be further exacerbated if the two members are not required to pay for their portion of the associated debt and infrastructure costs that the authority has undertaken to provide reliable water sources.”
Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl said, “The Water Authority maintains a solid financial position even in these difficult times, and the credit ratings reflect that. But the challenges are real as well, and they should unify the region to ensure that we continue to benefit from the safe, reliable water supplies we’ve invested in together for the past 30 years.”
In affirming their credit ratings, the services cited the Water Authority’s strong financial leadership, including prudent strategies to manage issues related to COVID-19, its success diversifying water supply sources, its commitment to infrastructure maintenance, and its financial reserves for managing contingencies, among other factors.
All three agencies addressed risks, such as additional local supplies that reduce Water Authority sales and member agency detachment. As proposed by Fallbrook and Rainbow, the detachments would allow those agencies to avoid paying for water supplies and infrastructure that have been developed in collaboration with those agencies and are currently being used by those agencies to meet their customers’ needs. Abandoning those cost obligations would force other ratepayers countywide to cover their portion of the bills already incurred for decades of investments in supply reliability.
In May 2020, the Water Authority’s Board of Directors voted to oppose detachment unless four conditions can be met related to protecting Fallbrook and Rainbow ratepayers, avoiding negative impacts for other member agencies, protecting the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta, and maintaining the Water Authority’s voting rights at MWD.
The issue is under review by the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission, known as LAFCO. The LAFCO process, which is designed to provide for an impartial analysis of these issues, will allow the Water Authority and all other affected parties to determine if these conditions are satisfied. If not, the Water Authority will oppose detachment.
For more information about the Water Authority’s finances go to: www.sdcwa.org/finance-investor-relations. Information about detachment is at https://www.sdcwa.org/member-agencies/lafco-reorganization/.
March 17, 2021 – All three major rating agencies – S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch – have affirmed the San Diego County Water Authority’s strong credit ratings, which will help the Water Authority optimize its debt portfolio and minimize the cost of financing important water reliability projects. The reports cited the Water Authority’s strategic management, its conservative approach to water sales projections, and the benefits of the Water Authority’s rate case litigation that recently resulted in $44.4 million being refunded to local retail water agencies – among many other factors.
Encinitas, Calif. — Olivenhain Municipal Water District invites residents with water-efficient gardens to enter the 2021 WaterSmart Landscape Contest. The winning landscape will receive $250. The deadline to apply is May 14, and applications are available at www.landscapecontest.com.
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 neighboring water districts—San Dieguito Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District, and Carlsbad Municipal Water District—to offer discounted rain barrels to area residents.
For decades, it was a source of drinking water for the San Marcos area. Today, the South Lake Reservoir has new life as a local wildlife habitat.
South Lake was built with an earthen dam and provided drinking water to the Lake San Marcos area, most of downtown San Marcos, and the Coronado Hills area. Updates to potable water treatment had detrimental effects on the lake ecology, so the Vallecitos Water District stopped using the lake as a drinking water source in 1984, although it remained an emergency water supply for another decade.
South Lake Reservoir is home to freshwater fish and abundant aquatic plant life, waterfowl, quail, doves, deer, rabbits, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, bobcats, and coyotes. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Now, South Lake provides a thriving ecosystem within and around the facility. The lake is home to freshwater fish and abundant aquatic plant life. Waterfowl such as coots, gallinules, grebes, various species of ducks, and cormorants frequent the lake throughout the year. The property is filled with quail, doves, deer, rabbits, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, bobcats, and coyotes.
Vallecitos Water District staff recently surveyed the area to look for animal tracks and other signs of wildlife, and to catalog plant and animal species.
Certified California naturalists Paige DeCino and Karen Merrill from Preserve Calavera assisted Vallecitos public information representative Alicia Yerman, who is also a certified naturalist. The team spent three days exploring the lake and the 1.4-mile trail. Merrill and DeCino host the volunteer UC Naturalist certification program. The program is currently on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Wildlife cameras at South Lake Reservoir captured this visiting bobcat at night. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Two wildlife cameras were set up at South Lake to capture wildlife activity over a two-week period. Lisa Urabe, a University of California trained Master Gardener and Vallecitos public information representative, asked the Buena Vista Audubon Society to conduct a bird survey. The BVAS volunteers identified 36 species in mid-February and created a YouTube video showcasing some of the species.
BVAS volunteers were enthusiastic about surveying the birds in an area set aside as wildlife habitat. With increased habitat fragmentation, BVAS hopes the area will remain primarily an area for wildlife.
Buena Vista Audubon Society volunteers including Karen Merrill andd Paige DeCino identified 36 species in mid-February and created a YouTube video showing some of species. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
“What you have at South Lake is a gem of the healthy functioning habitat— flora, fauna, and it is just a complete picture of what we hope our open spaces and natural lands to be,” said Karen Merrill. “It is something we should treasure now and into the future. It is one of a kind here on coastal San Diego County.”
Vallecitos employees take pride in the lake and its surrounding ecosystem and strive to keep the habitat intact for generations to come.
Vallecitos Water District staff, including water distribution operator Marcelino Sanchez, help maintain the lake and habitat. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
In addition to its value as local wildlife habitat, South Lake is available for fire suppression. Firefighting helicopters can pull water from the lake during wildfire events. The lake may be used as part of the City of San Marcos’ park system in the future.
Water quality within South Lake is monitored daily by water distribution operators, and the condition of the dam’s integrity is recorded weekly. Recently, an environmentally-sound ultrasonic technology made by LG Sonic was placed on the lake to reduce algae blooms and to improve water quality.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
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