Tag Archive for: East County Magazine

Helix Water Continues To Evaluate Local Drinking Water Project

On November 5, Padre Dam Municipal Water District, city of El Cajon and County of San Diego formed a Joint Powers Authority to serve as the governing body for the East County Advanced Water Purification project.  A Helix Water District representative will serve as an ex officio, non-voting member of the JPA board.

“The JPA board will be focused on the wastewater side of the project. Our role in the project if it moves forward, is on the drinking water side,” said Helix Water District General Manager Carlos Lugo.

Bipartisan San Diego Water Bill Introduced By Representatives Hunter, Davis, and Peters

San Diego Congressional members Scott Peters, Duncan Hunter and Susan Davis have introduced bipartisan federal legislation to simplify permit requirements to operate the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plan, with a goal of providing purified, recycled drinking water for the San Diego region and reducing ocean pollution.

The bill, H.R. 4611, the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act II, was introduced in the House on October 4, 2019.

See And Learn How Water Is Delivered To Your Home

This Saturday, October 26, Helix Water District is hosting Helix Water Talks, a behind-the-scenes look at how their field operations crews maintain the vast water distribution system that delivers water from their treatment plant in Lakeside to 276,000 people in El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove and Spring Valley.

The free event begins 8:30 a.m. at 1233 Vernon Way in El Cajon with coffee and bagels and includes a 2-hour walking tour of their operations center in El Cajon. Participants will see and learn how the district repairs broken water mains, installs service lines to homes and maintains water meters.

Padre Dam Board Approves Interim Funding Agreement For Regional Water Purification Project

The board for the Padre Dam Municipal Water District has voted unanimously for a financing package that clearly outlines the costs to each of the four agencies building the East County Advanced Water Purification Project. The approval for an interim $9.4 million funding agreement on June 19 was part of a series of steps the Santee water district took towards constructing a massive water reclamation facility that will cost about $660 million total.

Environmentalists Say County Water Authority And City Of San Diego Are Violating Laws By Pumping Down Lake Hodges, Leaning Grebe Nests “High And Dry”

A coalition of environmental groups has sent an urgent request to the San Diego County Water Authority asking for an emergency directive to halt pumping of water from Lake Hodges which has left grebe nests with eggs “high and dry” for the third time this season. The lake is in the city of San Diego, which has advised ECM today that it is taking steps to address the problem. Grebes are famed for “dancing” across the water during mating system, drawing visitors for the spectacle. (View video of dancing grebes and a new video titled “Save the Grebe Chicks of Lake Hodges.”)

Successful Litigation And Rate Stabilization Fund Benefit Ratepayers

Water rate increases proposed by the San Diego County Water Authority staff for 2019 are among the smallest in the past 15 years due to financial benefits secured through litigation against the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Water Authority’s planned use of its Rate Stabilization Fund. Rates charged to the Water Authority’s 24 member agencies across out region would increase by 0.9 percent for treated water and 2.9 percent for untreated water in calendar year 2019, according to a proposal to be presented to the Water Authority’s Board of Directors on Thursday, May 24.