Tag Archive for: Desalination

Drought, Water Supply and Climate Change in the San Diego Region

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

An update on San Diego’s water supply during the current drought, and how climate change affects regional weather, was the main focus of a recent event sponsored by several organizations.

The Citizens Water Academy, Leaders 20/20 and San Diego Green Drinks hosted a lunch and learn session August 17 that also provided details on how weather and climate impacts water supplies, and how prepared the San Diego region is for drought impacts.

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Singapore’s First Dual-Mode Desalination Plant

/in , /by /WaterWorld

Singapore is using desalination as part of the solution to provide enough clean drinking water for its ever-growing population of 5.5 million. Though surrounded by water, having enough drinking water has always been a challenge for this island state. Currently the demand for drinking water is up to 430 million gallons a day. The Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant is the latest step of Singapore using advanced technology to help address their water challenge.

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Interactive Display Added to Hydro Station Project in Chula Vista

/in , , /by /Water News Network

A new display added to the Chula Vista Hydro Station helps students learn about the water treatment process through interactive activities.

This unique joint educational partnership between the Sweetwater Authority, the Otay Water District, and the Chula Vista Elementary School District, the Hydro Station opened two years ago on August 15, at the Richard A. Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facility.

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The Hydro Station project allows a new generation of potential water professionals to participate in the mission to deliver safe and reliable water to hundreds and thousands of people in communities who rely on this essential workforce. Photo: Sweetwater Authority

Interactive Display Added to Hydro Station Project in Chula Vista

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A new display added to the Chula Vista Hydro Station helps students learn about the water treatment process through interactive activities.

This unique joint educational partnership between the Sweetwater Authority, the Otay Water District, and the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD), the Hydro Station opened two years ago on August 15, at the Richard A. Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facility.

The Hydro Station project is an interactive educational space that features learning exhibits and hands- on activities dedicated to introducing fifth grade students to the ecological cycle of water, water conservation, water quality, and careers in the water industry. Photo: Sweetwater Authority

The Hydro Station project is an interactive educational space that features learning exhibits and hands-on activities dedicated to introducing fifth-grade students to the ecological cycle of water, water conservation, water quality, and careers in the water industry. Photo: Sweetwater Authority

“We’re excited to welcome students back to the Hydro Station this year and use this interactive display to teach them how we use desalination to treat local drought-proof groundwater for our customers,” said Hector Martinez, Sweetwater Authority board chairman.

More than 4,000 students visit the Hydro Station annually and learn more about careers and opportunities in the water and wastewater industry.

The Sweetwater Authority and CVESD worked together to create the new display for students. The display was made possible through a grant from the Hans and Margaret Doe Charitable Trust, awarded to the Hydro Station project in 2019. The display will be worked into the Hydro Station curriculum and help teach CVESD students from the Otay Water District and the Authority’s service areas about the desalination process.

“The addition of this new interactive display demonstrates that education is always evolving, as is the water industry,” said Otay Board President Tim Smith. “As a partner of the Hydro Station, we’re proud to offer enhanced opportunities to students because they are our future water workforce.”

Hands-on experience for 4,000 students annually

The Hydro Station is an interactive educational space at the Richard A. Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facilities, operated as a joint partnership between the school district, the Otay Water District, and the Sweetwater Authority. Photo: Chula Vista Elementary School District

The Hydro Station is an interactive educational space that features learning exhibits and hands-on activities dedicated to introducing fifth-grade students to the ecological cycle of water, water conservation, water quality, and careers in the water industry. More than 4,000 students are expected to visit the Hydro Station annually.

“The Hydro Station introduces our students to the world of work in the water industry and inspires them at an early age to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics,” said CVESD Superintendent Dr. Francisco Escobedo. “With this station, we expose students to careers that can change the trajectory of entire families, opening the door to high-wage careers that our students might not have thought were possible. The students also explore ways to make the world a better place through clean water and water conservation.”

Educating the next generation of essential workers

Locally, more than 2,800 people work in the water and wastewater sector at the San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies. One-third of these industry professionals will be eligible for retirement in the next few years. Photo: Sweetwater Authority

Locally, more than 2,800 people work in the water and wastewater sector at the San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies. One-third of these industry professionals will be eligible for retirement in the next few years. Photo: Sweetwater Authority

Locally, more than 2,800 people work in the water and wastewater sector at the San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies. One-third of these industry professionals will be eligible for retirement in the next few years. The Hydro Station allows a new generation of potential water professionals to participate in the mission to deliver safe and reliable water to hundreds and thousands of people in communities who rely on this essential workforce.

Students participate in three dedicated days focused on career opportunities in Information and Communication Technologies, Clean Energy, and the Blue Economy. Students learn how their strengths, interests, and values may align with career options, and hands-on activities will help them connect to specific careers.

The Hydro Station location gives students a hands-on opportunity to explore how their strengths, interests, and values can connect with careers in the water industry while presenting opportunities to solve real-world problems through the Engineering Design Process. It also educates children and their families, as well as the community, on the thoughtful use of water resources.

(Editor’s note: The Otay Water District and Sweetwater Authority are two of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)

California Drought Could Lead to Mandatory Water Restrictions Reinstated Statewide

/in , , /by /NBC7 San Diego by Dana Griffin Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Even on an overcast, dewy day at the beach, drought conditions are of concern.

In July, Governor Gavin Newsom urged everyone across the state to cut their water use by 15%, but some water experts say that may not be enough.

“For us in San Diego County, we live in an arid region and we should be really behaving like we live in a drought 365 days of the year,” said Ian Monahan said, director of marketing and philanthropy for I Lova A Clean San Diego, an environmental non-profit focused on zero waste.

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Small Towns Grow Desperate for Water in California

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Thomas Fuller

As a measure of both the nation’s creaking infrastructure and the severity of the drought gripping California there is the $5 shower.

That’s how much Ian Roth, the owner of the Seagull Inn, a bed-and-breakfast in this tourist town three hours north of San Francisco, spends on water every time a guest washes for five minutes under the shower nozzle.

Water is so scarce in Mendocino, an Instagram-ready collection of pastel Victorian homes on the edge of the Pacific, that restaurants have closed their restrooms to guests, pointing them instead to portable toilets on the sidewalk.

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As California Declares Water Crisis, San Diego County Water Authority Declares Water Surplus Until 2045

/in , /by /KUSI-TVby Dan Plante Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

With all of the extreme heat and lack of rain here in California, some have said that we’re currently in the state’s worst drought in modern history. The drought is so bad that the state of California has now cut off water supplies to farmers in the Central Valley.

So how is the water supply here in San Diego? KUSI’s Dan Plante joined viewers live from Miramar Lake with the local situation.

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San Diego’s Water Desalination Efforts Could Get Boost in Federal Funding

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Deborah Sullivan Brennan

Desalination projects in the San Diego area could get millions in federal funding under a bill Rep. Mike Levin introduced Tuesday.

The Desalination Development Act would provide $260 million over five years for desalination projects across the country, including the City of Oceanside’s Mission Basin Groundwater Purification Facility, which converts brackish flows into potable water, said Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano.

It also sets environmental standards for projects that get federal funding, with requirements for energy efficiency, wildlife protection and water conservation.

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Pure Water Oceanside-Drought-Water Shortage-Water Supply-Drought

Water Conservation Helps San Diego Regional Supply During Drought

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Water conservation is a way of life in the San Diego region, whether during drought periods or wet years. While the region is in drought like much of the Southwest U.S., San Diego County is not experiencing a water shortage. That’s because the Helix Water District, and the other water utilities serving the region, have worked together for 25 years to conserve water and invest in new water resources.

The San Diego County Water Authority, its 24 member agencies, and the water ratepayers of San Diego County, have made investments to increase water supply reliability.

June 2021 was the hottest June on record in the U.S.

High temperatures make drought conditions worse. The hotter it is, the faster water evaporates from soil and transpires from plants. This is why urban landscapes, crops and forests dry out and the risk of wildfires increases. The map below shows all of the wildfires currently burning throughout the West.

Map from InciWeb

InciWeb map shows current fires burning across the U.S. West.

On July 8, Governor Newsom declared a drought emergency everywhere except Southern California

The Governor called for all Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15%, but only declared a drought emergency in the counties in red in the map below. That’s because communities in central and northern California are more likely to rely on a single river, creek or well for their water and are more vulnerable to drought. It’s drier in Southern California and water agencies have been developing multiple water resources to meet water supply needs for more than 100 years. Today, this approach helps protect the region against drought and water shortage.

Map from Cal Matters

On July 8, 2021, Governor Newsom extended his drought emergency declaration to include all 50 counties in central and northern California.

In the San Diego region, water utilities work together to develop water supply

Helix and other water utilities in San Diego depend on the San Diego County Water Authority to import water from the Colorado River and Northern California.  When residents and businesses pay their water bills, their water utility pays the Water Authority for the imported water they use. Then, all the water utilities meet at the Water Authority and decide how to invest that money in water resources. By pooling our money over the last 25 years, we invested $3 billion and developed projects no single utility could afford on its own.

San Diego County Water Authority board meeting photo from Water News Network

Board members from member agencies work together as the board of the San Diego County Water Authority.

San Diego residents use half the water they used in the 1990s

Residents and businesses in the region have reduced their water bills by installing water efficient plumbing fixtures, appliances, landscapes and irrigation, and have taken advantage of rebates to save money. Today, San Diego County residents use half the water they used in the 1990s. As a result, water utilities have been able to reduce the size and cost of new water projects. Conservation eases demand when there is a water shortage due to drought or emergencies.

Water efficient landscaping at The Water Conservation Garden

Water efficient landscaping at The Water Conservation Garden.

Water supply from the Colorado River

In 2003, the Imperial Irrigation District agreed to sell up to 200,000 acre feet of water annually to the San Diego County Water Authority. Water used to irrigate crops was now available to San Diego homes and businesses, and just one acre foot of water can sustain up to four homes for a year. And, the Imperial Irrigation District has the most senior water rights on the Colorado River. If the Colorado River Basin states renegotiate how the river’s water is divided up, those senior water rights will help protect San Diego.

Colorado River photo from KUER Public Radio

Muddy Colorado River flowing through Utah.

Drought-proof water resources

In 2014, the Water Authority completed the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant to turn Pacific Ocean water into drinking water. It’s the largest desalination plant in the western hemisphere. Now, we’re focused on turning recycled water into drinking water by using reverse osmosis, just like at the Carlsbad plant, and other advanced water treatment technology.

New water supply projects underway

Helix is working with Padre Dam Municipal Water District, the city of El Cajon and the county of San Diego on the East County Advanced Water Purification Program, and the cities of San Diego and Oceanside are developing “Pure Water” programs.

Reverse osmosis cannisters at the Carlsbad Desalination Plant. Photo from Poseidon Water

Reverse osmosis canister arrays at the Carlsbad Desalination

More space to store water

The more water we can store during a wet year, when a lot of rain and snow falls on California and the Colorado River Basin, the more water we have available in a dry year. Diamond Valley Lake, which Metropolitan Water District of Southern California filled in 2002, stores enough water for Southern California for six months. With the construction of Olivenhain Dam and the raising of San Vicente Dam, we have an additional six month water supply just for the San Diego region.

San Vicente Dam photo from the San Diego County Water Authority

San Vicente Dam.

(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.)

Drought: Marin Vets Options for Desalination, Water Pipeline

/in , , /by /Marin Independent Journalby Will Houston

Marin Municipal Water District announced Friday that it has found a potential vendor for temporary desalination plants and four Central Valley water suppliers that could transfer water to the county through a pipeline across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

The emergency water projects are being explored based on forecasts that the majority of Marin residents could run out of water by July 2022 if the upcoming winter is as dry as last year’s. The district serves about two-thirds of the county including 191,000 residents in central and southern Marin.

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