Tag Archive for: COVID-19

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Sam Pacheco is one of 15 Helix Water District employees who are military veterans. Photo: Water Authority Veterans Day

Veterans Day Salute to San Diego Water Industry Vets

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Many of the San Diego region’s 4,500 water and wastewater workers are military veterans. The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies are recognizing those veteran water industry professionals this week in honor of Veterans Day.

One of those water industry employees with a military background is Sam Pacheco, a field service representative with the Helix Water District. Pacheco served 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, retiring at the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. He ended his career at MCAS Miramar in Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting, as an on-base firefighter. Along with Veterans Day, Pacheco is celebrating the 245th birthday of the Marine Corps (November 10).

Public service a tradition

“When I got to serve in the military, I got to serve the folks of this country,” said Pacheco. “Now that I work for the Helix Water District, I do the same thing, serving the people of the community. It’s as gratifying. When I think about serving the public on a different level, I still get to do it now for Helix.”

Helix Water District has 15 military veterans on its staff. Board President Mark Gracyk served as an enlisted engineer in the U.S. Army, and Division 1 Director Dan McMillan served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and as a company commander in the California National Guard.

Water and wastewater careers draw on military experience

Veteran Sam Pacheco said he gets a second opportunity to serve his community in his job with the Helix Water District. Photo: Water Authority

Veteran Sam Pacheco said he gets a second opportunity to serve his community in his job with the Helix Water District. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

When Pacheco retired from the Marine Corps in 2011, he worked in the heating and air conditioning industry.

“I started working at Lake Jennings part-time,” said Pacheco. “A meter reader job became available and I thought, “‘I like exercise, I like being outside all day, that sounds like a job for me.”’

He became a full-time employee in March 2018.

Military to civilian employment

Pacheco said it is common for veterans to struggle to find civilian employment and it was true for him.

“This was the biggest transition going from the military to civilian employment, finding someone just as professional as the military,” he said. “Helix runs a very professional outfit. The caliber of people at the District, the work tempo, the expectations, the standards expected. I couldn’t have gotten luckier. It’s a big blessing for me.”

Pacheco appreciates the organization and high standards for water industry employees.

“When you come from something like the Marine Corps for 20 years, you are used to having all the I’s dotted and T’s crossed,” he said. “The way Helix takes care of business and runs the district, for me I don’t ever have to worry ‘has someone taken care of this or thought about it?’ I’m really impressed.”

Credit for military experience

The San Diego County Water Authority has co-sponsored state legislation in recent years to create and expedite career pathways and encourage veterans to consider careers within the water industry after serving their country. An effort by the Water Authority and its member agencies helped pass legislation that gives credit to veterans for their military experience when transitioning to the water and wastewater industry.

Signed into law in 2019, Assembly Bill 1588 requires the State of California recognize the experience and education veterans acquire while they are in the military for its operator certification program for water and wastewater treatment plants and water distribution systems.

It’s Not Too Late for Last-Minute Fall Gardening

/in , , /by /Ramona Sentinelby Regina Elling

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a record number of people to try gardening for the first time this year. Many of them were concerned about possible shortages and had a desire to avoid shopping and crowds.

For others, a home garden has always been part of their yearly routines.

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Opinion: Non-Revenue Water – An Opportunity for Water Utilities, Now More than Ever

/in , , /by /Water Finance & Managementby Travis Smith

It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the water industry. Revenue shortfalls from a decline in commercial and industrial water use and some residential customers struggling to pay bills are affecting utilities across the country. The service must go on, but in some cases the revenue lags. Conservative estimates from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies suggest the industry as a whole is expected to lose at least $12.5 billion due to the coronavirus when all is said and done.

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Quality of Life Dashboard for San Diego County Highlights Water Use

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Water use in the San Diego region was one of the positive trends in the 2020 Quality of Life Dashboard report released today by the Equinox Project.

The Quality of Life Dashboard measures and benchmarks environmental and economic trends throughout the region. Half of the 16 indicators used to measure San Diego County’s quality of life were either positive or neutral in 2019. The Dashboard tracks the county’s progress on critical quality-of-life issues and provides examples of what is working well and how the region can improve.

Six of the 16 indicators received a “thumbs-up” in the report, including water use, air quality, electricity use and renewable energy & storage. Five indicators, including traffic congestion, received a “thumbs-down.” Two indicators were neutral and three new indicators were added this year: Climate Change & Planning, Civic Engagement, and Regional Leadership in a Time of Crisis.

“The pandemic has shown the inequities that exist in our region as well as how they’re often interrelated,” said Dr. Emily Young, Executive Director of The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego, where the Equinox Project is based. “The pandemic is in some ways instructive of some ways in which climate change will play out in our region in the future as well as ways that may exacerbate equality. It’s also instructive in how our community is coming together to respond to the challenges at hand with strength, innovation and resilience.”

Quality of Life Dashboard-Dr. Emily Young-The Nonprofit Institute-Water Use

“The pandemic is in some ways instructive of some ways in which climate change will play out in our region in the future as well as ways that may exacerbate equality,” said Dr. Emily Young, executive director of The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego.

Residential water consumption decreased after dry 2018

As part of a long-term trend toward water efficiency and conservation, residential water use in San Diego County decreased from 2018 to 2019.

“Fluctuations in weather, including current La Niña conditions that typically mean a dry winter for California, highlight the importance of diversifying our regional water supply sources and continued investments in the infrastructure to deliver a safe, reliable supply to the region,” said Goldy Herbon, San Diego County Water Authority senior water resources specialist.

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Residential water use per capita in 2019 decreased as compared to 2018, and remained lower than historical rates. Graphic: The Nonprofit Institute/University of San Diego

“Water use received a thumbs-up because daily residential water consumption in San Diego County decreased by 8.8% from 91 gallons per capita in 2018 to 83 gallons in 2019,” according to the report. “Residential water use still remains below the 2011 pre-drought levels, which at its peak in 2007 reached 119 gallons per capita. The 2018 year was an extremely dry year but the 2019 year saw rainfall return to the level experienced in 2017, which likely contributed to water use returning to its 2017 level.”

Diversification and water management strategies

“San Diego County’s water supply has diversified significantly over the last couple of decades,” according to the report. “While the San Diego County Water Authority has decreased the region’s reliance on water from the Metropolitan Water District which serves parts of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, the region still remains heavily reliant on water from the Colorado River (through water supply purchases from MWD and through water conserved and purchased through the Imperial Irrigation District and through water conserved by lining the All-American and Coachella canals).”

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San Diego County’s water supply has diversified significantly over the last couple of decades. Graphic: The Nonprofit Institute/University of San Diego

The report also credited the San Diego region’s development of integrated regional water management strategies, which is a collaborative effort aimed at developing long-term water supply reliability, improving water quality, and protecting natural resources.

“The San Diego County Water Authority, along with the City of San Diego and the County of San Diego, has developed an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP), and the IRWMP builds on local water and regional management plans within the San Diego Region,” the report noted. “The IRWMP was developed with input from a diverse group of stakeholders that make up the Regional Advisory Committee, representation includes water management agencies, resource conservation agencies, tribes and nonprofits. The IRWMP was updated in 2019 and includes information on climate change science as well as a stormwater capture feasibility study.”

Diversified supply supports region’s economy

The report says a diversified water supply supports the region’s high quality of life, its thriving economy and a healthy environment.

“Over the past two decades, diversification efforts have helped the San Diego region significantly reduce its reliance on the Metropolitan Water District from 95% in 1991 to 40% in 2018, and a projected 11% in 2020 and 2% by 2035,” according to the report. “Research has shown that a reliable water supply and the infrastructure necessary to store, move, treat, and deliver are essential to the development of an advanced economy. These factors are indispensable for supporting the diversity of industries within the regional economy. Interruptions of the region’s water supply would have severe impacts on all local industries.”

The San Diego Regional Quality of Life Dashboard was launched in August 2010.  This year, eight University of San Diego researchers contributed to the Dashboard to highlight key trends in the region’s quality of life along with a critical focus on equity and how leaders are adapting in the face of the pandemic.

How Testing Sewage Could Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19

/in , , /by /KCRA-TV (Sacramento)by Marlei Martinez

All across the country, counties, colleges and other communities are now testing sewage to monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus. According to experts, COVID-19 can show up in wastewater about a week before people even show symptoms.

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Pure Water San Diego Launches Guided Virtual Tour

/in , , /by /Water News Network

The City of San Diego’s Pure Water Demonstration Facility public tour is now available as a virtual tour. A new video provides an up-close look at the technology behind the water purification plant.  In-person tours are on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and will resume once it is safe to do so. Since opening in June 2011, nearly 19,000 people have toured the one-million-gallon-per-day facility in person.

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Testing in an Effort to Flush Out the Coronavirus

/in , , /by /NPRby Elissa Nadworny

Twice a week, mathematics professor Andrea Bruder squats in the sewage tunnels below South Hall, a mostly freshman dorm at Colorado College. She wears head-to-toe protective gear and holds a plastic ladle in one hand and a to-go coffee cup in the other. Bruder hovers above an opening in a large metal pipe and patiently waits for a student to flush.

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El Camino Real Infrastructure Project Reaches Milestone

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

The Olivenhain Municipal Water District project to replace aging water infrastructure along El Camino Real in Encinitas has now reached the halfway point. After getting underway in March 2020 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the project is making steady progress. District officials expect the entire project to be completed in Spring 2021.

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Special Districts Push for Slice of California’s Coronavirus Relief Pie

/in , , /by /Whittier Daily Newsby Teri Sforza

The prickly issue of financial help for state and local governments — hammered by COVID-related dips in tax revenue — has been like rocks in the dance shoes of Democrats and Republicans as they execute the latest coronavirus-relief minuet.

While Democrats want $436 billion for state and local governments, Republicans refuse to “bail out” what they call “poorly run” and “mismanaged governments,” many of which happen to be in blue states.

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The Hidden Role of Water Infrastructure in Driving a COVID-19 Recovery

/in , , /by /Brookings Institutionby Newsha Ajami and Joseph W. Kane

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only disrupted the social and economic realities of our communities, but also undermined some of the basic infrastructure we depend on. Our water infrastructure has been at the heart of this realization; its importance to health, hygiene, and safety has never been more obvious, yet millions of disadvantaged and vulnerable households still lack reliable and affordable access to water.

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