A settlement reached over water contamination claims stemming from Monsanto Company’s use of toxic chemicals known as PCBs will send $550 million to several jurisdictions, including the cities of San Diego and Chula Vista, it was announced Wednesday.
The Sweetwater Authority recently began a multiyear water main flushing program using innovative technology to clean all 400 miles of pipeline in its system. It’s part of Sweetwater Authority’s use of the latest technology to deliver a safe, reliable water supply to its South San Diego County customers.
Water main flushing cleans pipeline interiors by sending a rapid flow of water through them. Sweetwater’s program is the first in the region to use a new, innovative technology resulting in less environmental impact.
“We’re committed to providing our customers with high-quality water, ensuring that every drop meets safety standards and protects public health,” said Tish Berge, Sweetwater Authority general manager. “We’re also dedicated to providing the safe, reliable water through the use of best available technology and sustainable practices.”
See the system in action in the following video. A Spanish language version is also available.
Traditional flushing methods release water from fire hydrants at a high speed in order to flush out naturally occurring sediments accumulating in water pipes over time. Although the sediment itself is harmless, it can eventually affect water color and taste. The water used to clean the pipes often cannot be captured and ends up in the storm drain system.
The bulk of Sweetwater Authority‘s flushing program now eliminates the need to discharge water from fire hydrants during the cleaning process while delivering the same results.
With the closed-loop system and increased controls, crews are able to effectively and thoroughly flush large sections of pipeline with a single setup and staging area. This more efficient setup is less labor-intensive and allows the crew to maintain a safe hub for operations. Photo: Sweetwater Authority
Crews identify all pipes, valves, and fire hydrants located in the area to be flushed. Next, crews connect one end of a hose to a hydrant and the other end of the hose to the no discharge, or NO-DES flushing unit. The process repeats, connecting a second hose to another hydrant and the other end back into the flushing unit, creating a temporary closed loop.
Once the NO-DES flushing unit is turned on and the hydrants are open, water will push through the loop at high pressure, disrupting any accumulated sediment on the inside of the pipes. The water is pushed through a series of sock-like filters, which remove those sediments and return clean, high-quality water back into the system.
Crews closely monitor the filtration system and water quality to determine when flushing of each pipeline segment is complete.
Additional member water agencies have indicated an interest in the cost-effectiveness of purchasing the NO-DES flushing units for the region and collaborating to create a shared-use program with the technology. Photo: Sweetwater Authority
With the closed-loop system and increased controls, crews are able to effectively and thoroughly flush large sections of pipeline with a single setup and staging area. This more efficient setup is less labor-intensive and allows the crew to maintain a safe hub for operations.
In the National City area 75.8 miles of pipeline was recently flushed. Crews are now completing work in the Bonita area, and then will start work in Chula Vista.
Additional water agencies have indicated an interest in the cost-effectiveness of purchasing the NO-DES flushing units for the region and collaborating to create a shared-use program with the innovative technology.
“Securing a local water supply to ensure the water delivered is of the highest quality through the best technology in our projects and programs helps to maximize value for our customers while also being sustainable,” said Berge.
For more information on the program, go to www.sweetwater.org/flushing.
Ten South Bay area high school students will be honored for their winning photos at today’s Sweetwater Authority Governing Board meeting.
Nearly 100 students from Sweetwater’s service area entered its annual water photo contest, which challenges students to showcase the importance of water in everyday life through photography. Students submitted photos in two categories.
The public is invited to an Artists’ Reception on Wednesday, March 11 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to see all the winning photos on display. The event is being held at the Authority’s Administrative Office on 505 Garrett Avenue in Chula Vista.
People flock to a Chula Vista parking lot to fill up jugs with water from a colorful kiosk owned by Colorado-based Watermill Express.
The company is one of several competing for customers suspicious of city tap water and fed up with buying bottled water.
Watermill, which runs a few dozen water vending machines across San Diego County, typically pays about $4,000 for the water that comes into its machines – city tap water that must meet state and federal water quality standards to begin with.
In a move intended to provide access to discussions that happen at the committee level, the Sweetwater Authority has decided to post audio it records of those meetings online. The decision, announced this week by the South Bay water agency’s general manager in an email to the governing board, came after a July 11 report and subsequent critical editorial in The San Diego Union-Tribune about a policy change that did away with a requirement to keep minutes of meetings when board members on committees convene. Staff still planned to record audio. The revision to the policy on committees was criticized by Director Josie Calderon-Scott, who has represented the Bonita area since 2016, as well as some ratepayers.
The Otay Water District plans to offer up the old Salt Creek Golf Course to developers. In May, the district prepared a list of about 40 regional developers it plans to notify about the availability of the 164-acre plot of land off Hunte Parkway just east of State Route 125. The decision to sell to developers comes more than a year since the unprofitable golf course shut down in March 2018, leaving Chula Vista’s golfers with one less place to play. At the time of Salt Creek’s closure, operators owed the Otay Water District more than $21,000 – this was after the district had already reduced their annual rent by roughly $118,000, records show.
As early as 1853, farmers in the San Diego region started making the transition from dry land farming and ranching to irrigated agriculture, specifically lucrative citrus crops. With the prospect of large profits looking, farmers scrambled to develop local water supplies for irrigation.
A pair of enterprising brothers stepped up to fill the need for water in the back country. They organized the Kimball Brothers Water Company. In 1869, it bought the rights to the Sweetwater River and then built a reservoir with a 90-foot high dam and distribution pipes. Their water supply spurred the development of National City and Chula Vista.
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