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. Litsa Tzotzolis, San Diego County Water Authority Public Affairs Representative, is the Water Utility Hero of the Week.
Editor’s Note: 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. Litsa Tzotzolis, San Diego County Water Authority Public Affairs Representative, is the Water Utility Hero of the Week.
I always wanted to work for a governmental organization. When moving back to the U.S. in 2010, I discovered a website that promoted government jobs. I saw that the Water Authority was hiring and they were looking for someone that had my skills and I applied. Working for a governmental organization impacts the lives of others and I wanted to impact the lives of others. At the Water Authority, we provide water to people, so it is public service work. I worked at San Diego State University for nearly four years before coming to the Water Authority. Like working for water, at the university I was able to impact the lives of students in a positive way.
Not much, 100% of my job is done on the computer. The only thing that has changed is the way I interact with colleagues. We have moved to interacting virtually. I connect with colleagues through Microsoft Teams which I am able to train and advise them on graphic matters.
I’m usually always home and only go out to walk, play tennis or grocery shop. I try to exercise daily, eat home cooked meals, eat as many fruits and vegetables as I can.
To go visit family in Chicago, Italy and Greece.
It’s been a helluva year, and we’re barely halfway throught it. The arrival of coronavirus and COVID-19 required so much of our focus and energy that it overshadowed a stockpile of existing problems. AWWA CEO David LaFrance shares insight and optimism for these turbulent times in the water industry.
At the end of July, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised plan for bringing long-term water security to all Californians. But his announcement was overshadowed by San Joaquin County and several Delta communities scrambling to confront the worst cases of toxic algae blooms ever seen on local sloughs and rivers.
These green, floating slicks brought a new level of criticism to Newsom’s agribusiness-friendly water proposal. That’s because the governor’s strategy relies in large part on the controversial Sites Reservoir proposal and the even more contentious Delta tunnel proposal. Conservation groups say both projects—particularly the tunnel—could worsen the problem of dangerous algae contamination in regional waterways.
Meanwhile, the state continues to spend large sums of money on both multibillion-dollar projects with little clarity on who will ultimately foot the bill as the COVID-19 pandemic drains evermore revenue from public agencies.
Water utilities were already facing a long list of challenges before COVID-19. Add to the list employee health protection, shutoff moratoriums, intensified affordability issues, unstable cash flow, the inability to foresee the “new normal” and matters become more complicated. It’s probable the list will continue to grow. Will supply management, defined as — identifying, acquiring and managing resources and supplier relationships that are essential to operations — be added to this list of challenges?
According to AWWA, 56% of utilities surveyed indicate experiencing PPE supply chain issues due to the pandemic. In the early stages of the emergency there were expressed concerns of interruptions to the supply chain for treatment chemicals. These supply chain issues may be short term, or not. What we are experiencing isn’t a typical risk event. The scale surpasses anything that even the savviest supply chain leaders could have anticipated.
If California lawmakers set aside climate concerns like sea level rise, and focus only on the pandemic, the state could be setting itself up for an even worse economic hardship, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office cautioned in a report Monday.
The Senate and House will negotiate soon on robust legislation for water infrastructure projects, which is especially critical for water and wastewater facilities during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter sent to Republican and Democratic congressional infrastructure leadership on Monday, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies urged that the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 authorize strong funding for the public water sector.
Word to the wise: Brace yourself before opening this month’s electric bill.
With Californians spending more time at home and working remotely during the pandemic, household appliances are sucking up way more energy than usual. Couple that with a few wicked heat waves, and you’ve got a recipe for some shocking electric bills.
The state will suffer dire long-term consequences if lawmakers set aside concerns about rising seas to focus solely on COVID-19, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office warned Monday.
Sea level rise will likely put at least $8 billion in property underwater by 2050, and could affect tens of thousands of jobs and billions in gross domestic product, according to studies cited by the office.
