Tag Archive for: Climate Change

By working proactively with its supplier, the Helix Water District ensures stable renewal energy prices for its ratepayers. Photo: Jeremy Bezanger/Unsplash.com

Stable Renewable Energy Prices Locked In by Helix Water District

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Proactive efforts by the Helix Water District have saved thousands of dollars per year in the district’s energy costs, and are helping it transition to renewable energy.

Helix buys most of its electricity through the State of California’s Direct Access Program and the electric service provider it contracts with, Calpine Energy Solutions. Helix has worked with Calpine since 2007 to manage the district’s energy costs and its move to renewable resources. It recently renewed its electricity-purchasing contract with the San Diego-based company that sells electricity. Helix relies on utilities like SDG&E, Southern California Edison, and PG&E to deliver it.

Helix negotiates contracts with Calpine that allow the district to lock in the price it pays for electricity. This limits the district’s exposure to events that cause energy costs to increase, like reduced hydropower production due to the drought, and higher natural gas prices due to the war in Ukraine.

Helix customers protected from market price increases

Calpine has also secured the renewable energy supply Helix needs through 2030. Calpine sources renewable energy from a portfolio of developers, including a new solar power facility in Riverside County. This will protect Helix and its customers over the next eight years, as market prices respond to increased demand and competition for renewable energy.

“For the last several years we’ve seen double-digit savings as high as 18% on electricity,” said Helix Assistant General Manager Brian Olney. “This year, with all that’s going on in the world and the market, we are doing very well for our customers.”

“We want stable prices for electricity because that helps stabilize water rates for our customers,” said Helix Board President Kathleen Coates Hedberg. “And we want the district to do its part to meet statewide goals for the use of electricity from renewable resources.”

Energy efficiency helps reduce costs

Helix also reduces costs by improving energy efficiency. In 2011, the district installed solar panels on its operations center in El Cajon that generate 90-100% of the facility’s electricity. In 2012, they retained DHK Engineers to perform an energy audit of all of the district’s facilities and operations.

“Implementing the recommendations from the audit reduced our annual energy use by 11%,” Olney said.

The next step at Helix is transitioning into electric vehicles. The district began the transition in 2019, with a grant from SDG&E to install electric vehicle charging stations, and rebates from the State of California on six Toyota Prius.

“This year,” said Helix Operations Director Kevin Miller, “we are testing Ford’s new electric pickups. We like to see companies move in this direction because when they take a step forward, Helix Water District takes a step forward.”

(Editor’s note: The Helix Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)

Vegas Water Intake Now Visible at Drought-Stricken Lake Mead

/in , , /by /AP News

A massive drought-starved reservoir on the Colorado River has become so depleted that Las Vegas now is pumping water from deeper within Lake Mead where other states downstream don’t have access.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority announced this week that its Low Lake Level Pumping Station is operational, and released photos of the uppermost intake visible at 1,050 feet (320 meters) above sea level at the lake behind Hoover Dam.

“While this emphasizes the seriousness of the drought conditions, we have been preparing for this for more than a decade,” said Bronson Mack, water authority spokesman. The low-level intake allows Las Vegas “to maintain access to its primary water supply in Lake Mead, even if water levels continue to decline due to ongoing drought and climate change conditions,” he said.

The move to begin using what had been seen as an in-case-we-need-it hedge against taps running dry comes as water managers in several states that rely on the Colorado River take new steps to conserve water amid what has become perpetual drought.

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Senators to Unveil Climate-Focused Water Infrastructure Bill

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Andrew Rypel

Senators plan to roll out a draft water infrastructure bill today that will serve as a vehicle for bipartisan provisions that aim to protect the nation’s coasts against widespread, deadly flooding and storm surge tied to climate change. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is planning to release a draft 2022 Water Resources Development Act. Known as WRDA, the legislation has a long track record of passing both chambers and making its way to the president’s desk every two years. The bill provides a blueprint for how the Army Corps of Engineers conducts some of the nation’s largest and most ambitious flood control, navigation and ecosystem restoration initiatives.

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Folsom Lake Levels Improve, Drought Conditions Still an Issue

/in , , /by /FOX 40 (Sacramento)by Julian Tack and Gurajpal Sangha

The latest Spring snowstorms helped increase California’s water supply and lake levels, but the Golden State continues to face drought conditions.

April’s wet weather in northern California have increased water levels at lakes like Folsom Lake.

“The particular storm of this week increased the rain and snow over northern California by about 5-10 percent,” said Meteorologist and forecaster Jim Mathews with the National Weather Service.

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Gov. Cox Issues State of Emergency Due to Drought

/in , , /by /KUTVby Matthew Jacobson,

Gov. Spencer Cox issued a drought state of emergency effective immediately.

The governor made the announcement at his monthly press conference.

“We’ve had a very volatile water year, and unfortunately, recent spring storms are not enough to make up the shortage in our snowpack,” Cox said in a media release. “Once again, I call on all Utahns – households, farmers, businesses, governments and other groups – to carefully consider their needs and reduce their water use. We saved billions of gallons last year and we can do it again.”

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Drought Boon or Boondoggle? Critics Blast Poseidon Desalination Plan as Crucial Vote Looms

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Among the many complex arguments over water in California, one particularly heated debate centers on whether the state should seek more drinking water from a plentiful but expensive source: the Pacific Ocean.

The debate has reached a critical stage in Huntington Beach, where Poseidon Water has been trying for more than two decades to build one of the country’s largest desalination plants. The California Coastal Commission is scheduled to vote next month on whether to grant a permit to build the plant.

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Gary Croucher-Board Chair-San Diego County Water Authority-Primary

Working Together on Water Affordability

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After weeks of work, I’m pleased to report that thanks to the improved relationship between the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and the San Diego County Water Authority, along with increased collaboration with other water agencies across Southern California, we helped reduce proposed rate increases to our wholesale water supplies by 7 percentage points over the next two years. This is good news for water ratepayers!

The bottom line is this: Instead of raising wholesale water costs by 17% over the next two years, MWD unanimously adopted consecutive 5% increases. This will allow MWD to cover increasing costs facing every sector of our economy, including our water industry, while limiting the impact on residents and businesses.

Collaboration on water affordability

My thanks to MWD Chairwoman Gloria Gray and MWD General Manager Adel Hagekhalil and their team of dedicated professionals, who heard water agencies’ concerns and presented a lower rate increase proposal that brought the MWD board together. It’s also important to note the role of San Diego County’s delegates, who sit on the MWD Board and played a key role in lowering the costs. These delegates (Lois Fong-Sakai, Gail Goldberg, Marty Miller, and Tim Smith) represent you and worked diligently over several weeks to help gain support from their colleagues for the rate proposal that prevailed.

Water Authority member agencies play key role

I also want to thank the retail water agencies across San Diego County that supported our region’s delegates by sending letters to MWD, including Escondido, Helix, Olivenhain, Otay, Santa Fe, Sweetwater, and Valley Center. It makes a huge difference for the MWD board, which meets in Los Angeles, to see that we are a united region.

Water affordability a priority

Water issues are not simple, and many challenges remain as the Water Authority takes on setting its rates for 2023. We all still face enormous challenges depending on the severity of drought conditions. For example, if Lake Mead water levels continue to drop, the ability to generate hydroelectric power at the Hoover Dam could grind to a halt. The demand and cost of electricity could skyrocket, which could severely affect the cost of water delivery. However, please be assured that your Water Authority Board will continue to make the affordability of water a priority.

(Editor’s note: The Helix Water District, Otay Water District, Olivenhain Municipal Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District, Sweetwater Authority, Valley Center Municipal Water District, and the City of Escondido, are seven of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)

Desalination Turns Ocean Water into Drinking Water — So Why Hasn’t it Solved Droughts?

/in , , /by /NBCUniversal (Lx News)by Cody Broadway

More than 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, but only 0.5% it is actually accessible to us. Removing salt from ocean water, known as desalination, can create drinkable water during a time of extreme drought and soaring demand. So what’s the problem?

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San Diego Tree Week: Concerts and Free Trees

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Water Conservation Garden is celebrating Spring this year by launching San Diego Tree Week. The goal, from April 22-29, is to plant 1,000 trees and bring San Diego residents together through tree planting.

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Energy Shift Creates Opening for ‘World’s Largest Batteries’

/in , , /by /AP News by John Flesher

Sprawled like a gigantic swimming pool atop a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan is an asphalt-and-clay pond holding enough water to produce electricity for 1.6 million households.

It’s part of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant, which uses simple technology: Water is piped from a lower reservoir — the lake, in this case — to an upper one, then released downhill through supersized turbines.

Supporters call these systems “the world’s largest batteries” because they hold vast amounts of potential energy for use when needed for the power grid.

The hydropower industry considers pumped storage the best answer to a question hovering over the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy to address climate change: where to get power when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.

(Editor’s Note: The San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego are partnering on the proposed San Vicente Energy Storage Facility project. More information: www.sdcwa.org/projects/san-vicente-pumping-facilities/)

 

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