The first slide of the Oxnard chief financial officer’s presentation to be given on Tuesday contains this message: “Warning: Estimates subject to change.” No politician, economist or crystal ball can show exactly how deep and how lasting this recession will go. As municipal finance leaders put together a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, the best they can do is use projections with limited certainty.
The San Diego County Water Authority and its contractors have completed essential repairs on a section of Pipeline 5 in North San Diego County between Fallbrook and Escondido. The repairs included installing 156 feet of carbon fiber liner inside the 96-inch pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe to extend its service life. The pipeline was returned to normal service over the weekend – ahead of the original schedule.
The lining for Pipeline 5 is a material made from layers of carbon and glass fibers combined with polymers that are engineered to efficiently and effectively improve the structural integrity of large-diameter pipelines.
“The timely upgrade to this section of Pipeline 5 is part of the Water Authority’s proactive asset management program,” said Jim Fisher, director of operations and maintenance at the Water Authority. “A key element of providing a safe and reliable water supplies is continually assessing our 310 miles of large-diameter pipeline and making the upgrades necessary to continue serving the region.”
The essential repairs followed similar repairs on nearby Pipeline 4 last year. The Pipeline 5 project started in early April, about the time most Water Authority employees transitioned to working at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The crews adapted quickly to implement safeguards to protect their health while moving forward with the critical repairs,” said Peter Milligan, engineer at the Water Authority. “We made sure to limit the number of people on-site, wear masks, and maintain a safe physical distance inside where possible.”
The asset management program uses cutting-edge technologies, like carbon fiber lining, to monitor and maintain the condition of important regional water infrastructure. Making preventative repairs ensures that regional water service will continue uninterrupted.
Pipeline 5 was built in 1982 and is part of the Water Authority’s Second Aqueduct, which consists of Pipelines 3, 4 and 5. Along with Pipeline 3, Pipeline 5 delivers untreated water from Lake Skinner in southwest Riverside County to the Lower Otay Water Treatment Plant in southern San Diego County.
An analysis to determine a long-term solution to maintain the Second Aqueduct in North San Diego County is underway.
An unprecedented and fledgling statewide effort to shore up hundreds of struggling drinking water systems could face intense pressure from the novel coronavirus pandemic as the program is rolled out in coming months.
For almost a year now, the California Water Resources Control Board has been working to craft the program, and on Tuesday it approved a policy designed to guide the spending of $1.3 billion over 10 years to save some 300 water systems that are failing or at-risk of failing.
Scientists across the nation are examining Southern California’s poop — maybe even yours — with the hope of more quickly identifying COVID-19 hotspots and better preparing for future surges. The information could also signal when stay-at-home orders can be safely eased in specific communities.
Untreated sewage has been used for years to track viruses as well as to analyze opioid use by neighborhood. Now the race is on to determine whether it can serve as an early warning system for the new coronavirus, particularly since the small fraction of the population receiving swab tests cannot capture the breadth of asymptomatic infections.
“Testing of every individual is very difficult. But if you have 50,000 people in a community, you may be able to determine the prevalence by testing the wastewater,” said Sunny Jiang, a microbiologist leading a pilot project at UC Irvine to identify COVID-19 in sewage systems.
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 Coachella Valley Water District has released a revised annual budget for fiscal 2021 that represents the hard economic realities of operating during the coronavirus pandemic.
The new budget, which is currently a staff proposal, proposes a $40 million decrease in spending compared to the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. It will be discussed at board of directors meetings on Monday and Tuesday.
“Though we have a tremendous pent-up demand for facilities repairs and upgrades, we have committed to imposing no rate increases in FY 2021,” the staff presentation about the updated budget proposal says. “Instead, we have cut operating expenses and are temporarily tapping into our emergency reserves.”
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 Water Authority Board leadership launched the effort for staff and Board members in late March, then expanded it by inviting 24 retail member agencies countywide to join the effort to fight hunger. So far, approximately $20,000 has been contributed through donation portals established by the Water Authority and member agencies.
In recent weeks, we’ve been sharing stories of how California agriculture is adapting under the current circumstances stemming from COVID-19. I have a few more for you here today.
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic reverberate through California agriculture, according to speakers at an online forum. During a virtual town hall hosted by chairs of the Legislature’s agriculture committees, economists said changes in diets and buying habits have disrupted every aspect of the farming business. One analyst said agriculture faces a “one-two punch” from the pandemic shutdown and a slow economic recovery.
The Fallbrook Public Utility District adopted a resolution declaring a state of emergency due to the coronavirus epidemic.
A 5-0 FPUD board vote, April 27, authorized Jack Bebee, general manager of FPUD, and Dave Shank, the district’s chief financial officer, to submit any necessary requests for emergency-related financial assistance to the state’s Office of Emergency Services or to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We’re only doing it just because there’s a timeline to submit it,” Bebee said. “Right now, we’re not planning to submit anything.”
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 Water Authority Board leadership launched the effort for staff and Board members in late March, then expanded it by inviting 24 retail member agencies countywide to join the effort to fight hunger. So far, approximately $20,000 has been contributed through donation portals established by the Water Authority and member agencies.
In addition, water agencies have partnered with the Food Bank to inform its clients that it is unnecessary to purchase bottled water when convenient, clean drinking water is available 24/7 at the tap for about a penny a gallon.
“The region’s water industry is committed to sustaining our community in this time of acute need,” said Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer. “The San Diego region has come together time and again to meet challenges such as wildfires, and we’re doing the same to provide hunger relief during this crisis.”
The San Diego Food Bank typically helps feed 350,000 people each month at 200 distribution sites — and demands have skyrocketed as the economic impacts of coronavirus closures ripple across the region.
Donations to the San Diego Food Bank are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. The San Diego Food Bank is a 501(c)(3) organization.
In response to the pandemic, the Water Authority and its 24 member agencies have increased regional coordination and communication to ensure continued delivery of safe and reliable water service for San Diego County. Public water supplies in the region remain safe to drink due to numerous robust treatment processes used by local and regional water providers.
As essential workers, the region’s water and wastewater system employees will continue to work to ensure safe and reliable water services.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
