Chula Vista, Calif. – In the midst of an unprecedented crisis, Sweetwater Authority (Authority) Board Members and employees have focused all efforts on accomplishing three key goals: provide safe, reliable water; do our part to protect customers from financial impacts of the pandemic; and care for the community we serve.
This feature highlights water utility employees in the San Diego region working during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure a safe, reliable and plentiful water supply. The water industry is among the sectors that are classified as essential. Sweetwater Authority Engineering Manager Erick Del Bosque is the Water Utility Hero of the Week.
San Diego County Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer today praised planning efforts by state Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins of San Diego and other state Senate leaders to help guide California’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The senate plans include funding to create jobs, boost infrastructure investments and to protect renters and landlords.
“We are very appreciative of President pro Tem Toni Atkins’ efforts to advance immediate action on economic recovery and creative solutions to jump-start California’s economy without exacerbating the already-challenging fiscal conditions being experienced at the state and local government levels,” Madaffer said. “We look forward to engaging on the details and partnering with the state to move forward on shovel-ready water and energy infrastructure projects that can help the state’s economic recovery gain traction.”
San Diego County Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer today praised planning efforts by state Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins of San Diego and other state Senate leaders to help guide California’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The senate plans include funding to create jobs, boost infrastructure investments and to protect renters and landlords.
“We are very appreciative of President pro Tem Toni Atkins’ efforts to advance immediate action on economic recovery and creative solutions to jump-start California’s economy without exacerbating the already-challenging fiscal conditions being experienced at the state and local government levels,” Madaffer said. “We look forward to engaging on the details and partnering with the state to move forward on shovel-ready water and energy infrastructure projects that can help the state’s economic recovery gain traction.”
The Water Authority pledged to work with Sen. Atkins as the Legislature begins the challenging – but necessary – work of crafting comprehensive and responsible solutions to address the crisis and begin the task of restoring the economy.
Economic Recovery Fund
One of the proposals would create a $25 billion Economic Recovery Fund through establishment of prepaid future tax vouchers from 2024 through 2033. The funds could be used to accelerate infrastructure projects and boost the green economy.
It would also create jobs and provide a myriad of services and resources, from small business and worker assistance and retraining to wildfire prevention response and schools most harmed by campus closures.
In addition senate leaders outlined a budget approach to help the state rebound from COVID-19.
“Our goal is to offer ideas for our state budget and economic recovery that take a responsible approach to planning for our state’s spending, while also keeping in mind the needs of Californians, millions of whom have been adversely impacted by the pandemic,” said Atkins.
This feature highlights water utility employees in the San Diego region working during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure a safe, reliable and plentiful water supply. The water industry is among the sectors that are classified as essential.
I was in my junior year of college when I was having serious doubts about the major I chose civil engineering. This was mostly due to required coursework that was not of interest to me and I was seriously considering switching majors. However, during this junior year of college I got involved with a nonprofit organization called Engineers Without Borders and I got to design and construct a water filtration system with other engineering students, for a rural community in northern Thailand. This was a great rewarding experience and sparked my interest in the water industry. During my senior year of college when most of my coursework consisted of elective courses, I mostly selected elective coursework related to water resources, water distribution, and water treatment so I could pursue a job in the water industry.
At Sweetwater Authority we have implemented a rotation schedule for when staff needs to work from the office and when staff needs to work remotely from home. This ensures that we have sufficient coverage in the office for all areas while maintaining social distancing from each other. For those days where I need to work remotely from home, the remote connection from the laptop at home to my office computer is very smooth and it’s just like if I were working from my office computer, with the exception that I don’t have an extra computer monitor at home like I have in my office. Working from home does have some occasional challenges though, such as interruptions from my 3-year old son or having my dogs barking during conference call meetings, but overall, I have adjusted well to the different working conditions.
By following the recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and state and local governments, such as wearing a face mask when in public areas, washing my hands or using hand sanitizer after touching areas that might have been touched by others, following social distancing recommendations, and only going out of the house for essential things such as buying groceries.
To hang out with friends and family.
Life has been different around Boston for weeks during the coronavirus pandemic, and you can see one way it’s changed entire communities in an essential resource: the water supply.
Water use has dropped nearly 6% across the region during the past eight weeks, during the governor’s stay-at-home order, according to figures compiled this week by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority and cited by the city of Newton. The supplier compared use from March 18 to May 6 against averages from the previous three years.
Non-essential businesses have been shuttered and Boston and Waltham, both home to large commercial districts, experienced heavy drop-offs of 13.7% and 13.1%, respectively. Milton and Nahant have also used significantly less water in their areas, with Nahant down 9.1% from an average year.
The coronavirus pandemic forced the City of Escondido’s Water Quality Laboratory to rethink its lab operations without compromising community health or employee wellbeing while ensuring the clean, safe, and efficient operation of the city. Through teamwork and creative thinking, the lab found success in maintaining its essential work.
“Whether we have a pandemic or not, people still want to open their taps and have clean drinking water,” said Ralph Ginese, supervising chemist with the City of Escondido.
Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility Laboratory Superintendent Nicki Branch says employee safety was addressed first.
“We immediately enforced the six-foot social distancing requirement and frequent handwashing,” said Branch. “The facility cleaning staff increased disinfection wipedown of all surfaces. We stopped having group staff and safety meetings by switching to online. We have changed our work schedule, essentially cutting it in half on a rotating schedule and allowing all employees to be able to telecommute from home periodically.”
The 14 employees have been provided additional personal protective equipment including facemasks.
“Staff is able to do administrative work, lab paperwork, study for exams, safety training, research on the industry and attend webinars,” said Branch.
Half of the staff members remain at the lab facility full-time, where they conduct analyses to verify the quality of wastewater treatment processes to safeguard community health, as well as required monthly and quarterly testing.
As part of ongoing monitoring at the Escondido Water Quality Lab, Associate Chemist Sarah Shapard performs tests analyzing for ammonia. Photo: City of Escondido
Recent heavy rains in Escondido complicated the testing process. Branch said several lab staff were placed on call in the event additional testing was needed due to a possible emergency-permitted tertiary discharge to nearby Escondido Creek due to high flows after five days of rain.
“They were all game to come in if needed on a Saturday to assist, but fortunately the operations staff worked miracles to keep us from discharging,” said Branch. “Heavy rains also caused a situation where additional sampling of lakes for drinking water analysis occurred, and the lab staff responded immediately to help the drinking water division with sampling and analysis.”
The Escondido lab routinely tests six sample sites along the outfall line.
“It’s a full-blown scan, so getting samples to contact labs would have been a real challenge,” said Ginese, crediting the work of the city’s operations staff to prevent any discharge into the creek.
“I am so proud of all the staff at the HARRF Laboratory for responding to this Covid -19 pandemic in a professional manner, adapting quickly to our City policies requiring social distancing, and for offering to come in on emergency situations when needed,” said Branch.
The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies have increased regional coordination and communication to ensure the coronavirus pandemic does not impact safe and secure water service for San Diego County.
An effort to bolster food bank supplies and fight hunger in San Diego County is getting a helping hand from the region’s public water agencies.
The San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies are supporting a virtual food drive in partnership with the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. The campaign allows donors to select and purchase items such as canned meats, vegetables, fruits, peanut butter and oatmeal for distribution to needy residents. To donate, go to www.bit.ly/SDWaterAgencyFoodDrive.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s long-running and highly popular school assembly programs are suspended as students nationwide stay home due to the coronavirus pandemic. To help students, parents and teachers continue learning about water and science, the Water Authority is partnering with Shows That Teach, a Southern California company that specializes in school education programs, to produce a series of free online educational videos.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s long-running and highly popular school assembly programs are suspended as students nationwide stay home due to the coronavirus pandemic. To help students, parents and teachers continue learning about water and science, the Water Authority is partnering with Shows That Teach, a Southern California company that specializes in school education programs, to produce a series of free online educational videos.
The videos will feature topics like local water supplies in the San Diego region, how clean our tap water is, proper ways to wash hands, and more.
“Everything has changed for us water-education school-assembly performers,” said Mark Beckwith, founder of Shows That Teach. “With the schools closed, our young audiences have disappeared. So we simply changed our means, not our mission!”
The professional writers and performers at Shows That Teach are creating fun, informative and engaging online videos to address many water-related topics while holding the attention of young students who are learning from home.
“Just as with our live shows, if kids are not engaged, trying to ‘teach’ is pointless,” said Beckwith. “So our videos are produced in a fun YouTube style.”
The educational videos will each be approximately six minutes long and will be released periodically in coming weeks. Along with water and science topics, the videos will address staying safe and healthy during the coronavirus pandemic and general character affirmations such as generosity for elementary school students.
For more than 30 years, the Water Authority’s school education program has been a core component of the agency’s community outreach efforts. The program has reached tens of thousands of students and teachers to improve water knowledge across the region.
Education programs offered by the Water Authority are popular with schools throughout San Diego County, because they are engaging and help teachers meet instructional requirements. Many of the programs are free. For more programs and resources, go to sdcwa.org/education.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
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