Having an eco-friendly yard doesn’t have to mean replacing a lawn with sand and succulents. Ann-Marie Benz, California Native Plant Society’s horticulture program manager, says creating a drought-resilient landscape has a bad reputation. Creating a native, water-wise yard can be rewarding — and done with a personal flair.
On a closely packed street in Inglewood, where single-family home after single-family home overlooks a manicured lawn, a spectacular garden filled with California native plants reaches to the sky and spills onto the sidewalk.
In Brian Bautista’s yard, upright showy penstemon, aromatic hummingbird sage, hardy toyon trees, and two types of milkweed — dramatic plants requiring little water — attract birds, butterflies and bees and flourish amid the Bermuda grass lawns.
California’s Imperial Valley is one of the few places where a 95 degree day can be described as unseasonably cool.
In the shade of a sissoo tree, with a dry breeze rustling its leaves, JB Hamby called the weather “pretty nice” for mid-June. Over his shoulder, sprinklers ticked away over a field of onions. Every few minutes, a tractor rumbled across the broiling asphalt of a nearby road.
Hamby is a water policy bigwig, especially around these parts. He helps shape policies that define how water is used by arguably the most influential water users along the Colorado River. Hamby holds two jobs – he serves on the board of directors for the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and was recently appointed to be California’s top water negotiator.
And he’s only 27 years old.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria joined with regional agriculture, business, water, and elected leaders on Friday to oppose a potential $200 million water bill increase for ratepayers across San Diego County.
“The proposed action will have significant, long-term economic impacts to most households in San Diego County. Nearly every family and business will see an increase in their water rates,” Mayor Gloria said. “The cost of living is a continuous struggle for many San Diegans and these proposed rate increases are unacceptable.”
Chair Nora Vargas of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors commented on the proposal’s impact on low-income residents and the lack of a countywide vote. “An unnecessary increase in water bills means taking money away each month from hardworking families who can least afford it,” she said. “Not only will this detachment proposal lead to higher water bills, we also won’t have a say in the matter.”
Jerry Sanders, President and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, said it’s counterproductive to saddle businesses with additional bills. “This proposal would shift millions in added costs onto local businesses, many of which operate on thin margins,” Sanders said. “Our businesses face so many threats to success. Let’s not add to these challenges with an unnecessary water rate hike.”
A new study indicates original LAFCO cost estimates of detachment are as much as 50% below the true price tag, as much as $200 million. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Two water agencies in Fallbrook and Rainbow seek to leave the San Diego County Water Authority without paying the full cost of investments made on their behalf over the past several decades. On July 10, the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission’s (LAFCO) board is expected to vote on the “detachment” proposal, possibly with the inclusion of a limited “exit fee” for Fallbrook and Rainbow. However, LAFCO’s figures are based on years-old data and flawed projections that understate the annual costs of detachment by at least 50%.
Updated figures released this week show that disadvantaged communities, working families, farmers, and others across San Diego County will be forced to pay nearly $200 million more over the next decade for water service unless the agencies seeking to leave the Water Authority are required to fully cover their costs. LAFCO’s data don’t reflect the inflationary realities or the fact that the financial impacts of detachment will continue far beyond LAFCO’s five-year horizon.
“I am deeply concerned that LAFCO could make this momentous decision without ensuring the accuracy of the costs of detaching from the Water Authority or allowing residents countywide to vote on this scheme,” said Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz.
LAFCO’s staff recommendation to approve the detachment plan does not include a substantive analysis of impacts to disadvantaged communities or to agriculture in the Water Authority service area. Nor does it include the environmental analysis required by law.
“We all care about the cost of water because it’s a major factor for most farms,” said Frank Hilliker,” Board Chair of the Lakeside Water District and a long-time egg farmer in East County. “If Fallbrook and Rainbow water agencies don’t pay their costs, it hurts farmers like me who will be forced to pay more. I urge LAFCO to make sure that they require full cost coverage by Fallbrook and Rainbow to protect our region’s agriculture industry.”
A coalition of government, community, business, labor, agriculture, and water leaders joined together today to collectively urge San Diego LAFCO to vote no on detachment at its meeting on Monday, July 10. These leaders include:
The agreement reached in May by California, Arizona and Nevada to conserve 3 million acre-feet of Colorado River water is reassuring news for all who rely on it — farms, cities, rural communities, tribes and the environment. It benefits American consumers in general who depend on the region’s farms for much of our safe, healthy, affordable food supply, and Southern California residents who receive farm-to-urban water transfers from the Imperial Valley specifically, helping protect them from drought-related water shortages.
You can blame California’s wild winter for all sorts of havoc this spring and summer: moldy, leaking roofs, plagues of mosquitoes, cabin fever.
Giant, less-flavorful strawberries also deserve a spot on that list.
California produces 90% of the nation’s strawberries, which typically enjoy a growing season that starts as early as January and lasts until July. Peak season usually begins in March.
California, Arizona and Nevada reached a long-sought consensus last month on how to conserve water and prevent the Colorado River from running dry.
Under the plan for states to reduce their water use by 13% through 2026, farmers in the Imperial Valley are expected to shoulder much of the burden.
A water shortage on the Colorado River has put tremendous strain on the states that rely on it as a main water source. The fate of California’s Salton Sea is tied to the future of the river, and a catastrophic drought has only worsened conditions.
In a world of worsening heatwaves, flooding, drought, glacial melting, megafires and other calamities of a changing climate, Gary Gragg is an optimist.
As California warms, Gragg — a nurseryman, micro-scale farmer and tropical fruit enthusiast — looks forward to the day that he can grow and sell mangoes in Northern California.
The California Department of Water Resources announced Thursday that the State Water Project will be able to deliver 100% of requested water supplies this year thanks to full reservoirs following record winter rain and snow.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
