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Local Elementary School Finds Lead in Water

A San Diego elementary school is shutting off part of their drinking water supply due to unsafe lead levels, district officials announced Friday. Six water fixtures at Fletcher Elementary School, a K-5 school on Bobolink Way in the Linda Vista area, displayed higher lead levels than the district’s 5ppb safety limit during testing at the school. Most of the fixtures had lead levels under 10 parts per billion, but one — a cafeteria kitchen faucet — showed levels of about 45 parts per billion, nine times higher than the district’s limit and three times higher than the federal limit of 15 parts per billion.

County Water Authority Votes to Support $17B ‘WaterFix’ Proposal

The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors Thursday unanimously voted to support current plans for California WaterFix, the state’s $17 billion proposal to address water supply constraints in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta.

The board’s backing is contingent on a financing plan that fairly allocates project costs to San Diego County taxpayers, according to the Water Authority. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the sole source of Bay-Delta water for the San Diego region, is responsible for such allocations.

Deferred Maintenance On City Storm Water System May Lead To Emergencies

A city of San Diego analysis delivered to the City Council’s Audit Committee Wednesday found that Storm Water Division infrastructure faces the largest deferred maintenance backlog of any asset type in the city amid chronically insufficient funding. Continued deficits could lead to more emergencies and an inability to meet water quality requirements, Principal Senior Performance Auditor Andy Hanau told the committee. The Storm Water Division is projected to need $891 million to keep up with infrastructure needs and water quality standards over the next five years. Only $433 million in funding has been identified, however, leaving a gap of about $458 million.