The fourth time was the charm for Randy Siegel, a 71-year-old Santee resident whose color photograph of a sunrise over a Lakeside reservoir took top honors in the eighth annual Lake Jennings Spring Photo Contest overseen by the Helix Water District. Siegel’s winning shot, “Sunrise Over Lake Jennings,” was judged best in the adult category by a panel of judges who volunteered their time to the district. The contest asked shutterbugs to take their best photograph at the Lakeside reservoir between March 1 and May 31 keying on this year’s theme “Life at the Lake.” Now in its eighth year, the contest drew 60 entries from throughout San Diego County – 51 from adults and nine from youths.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2019-07-04 09:16:542019-07-05 09:18:41Helix Water District Honors Top Lake Jennings-Inspired Shutterbugs
Helix Water District recently selected the winners of its 2019 Lake Jennings Spring Photo Contest. This year’s first place award in the adult category went to photographer Randy Siegel of Santee for his image titled “Sunrise Over Lake Jennings.”
Now in its eighth year, the contest drew 60 entries from throughout San Diego County. This year’s theme was “Life at the Lake,” and each of the entries highlighted the unique beauty of camping, fishing, hiking, spotting wildlife and enjoying the view at Lake Jennings.
Contestants were required to submit photos taken between March 1 and May 31, 2019, at the reservoir in Lakeside. The following photographers took top honors:
Lake Jennings Photo Contest, Adult Category First Place: Randy Siegel, “Sunrise Over Lake Jennings”
Adult Category:
1st Place – Randy Siegel, ‘Sunrise Over Lake Jennings’
2nd Place – Kurt Scherbaum, ‘Great Horned Owl’
3rd Place – Frances Schnall, ‘Patience’
Honorable Mention – Fred Kropveld, ‘Jennings Scenic 3’
Honorable Mention – Wes Van Fleet, ‘Awe and Creation’
Lake Jennings Photo Contest, Youth Category, First Place: Ryan Cobain, “Rainbow”
Youth Category:
1st Place – Ryan Cobain, ‘Rainbow’
2nd Place – Cricht Ruediger, ‘Lake Jennings View Scape’
3rd Place – Aure Ruediger, ‘Lake Jennings Ducks and Anglers’
Honorable Mention – Luke Macy, ‘Silver Linings’
Honorable Mention – Jaden Cobain, ‘Rocks’
See all the winning photos in the gallery below.
The Helix Water District Board of Directors honored the winning photographers at an awards ceremony during its June 26 board meeting.
First place winner (Adult Category) Randy Siegel, receives congratulations from Dan McMillan, Helix Water District Board President. Photo: Helix Water District
Lake Jennings is among the most scenic inland parks in San Diego County. Located in Lakeside, the recreation destination offers fishing, camping, hiking, and picnicking activities. The lake is a drinking water reservoir owned and operated by Helix Water District. The scenic views of the lake and the wooded surroundings put visitors in the middle of the wilderness, right outside of town.
The entire lake is open to the general public for fishing three days a week on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
The 97-space Lake Jennings Campground is open year-round for campers. The campground, located on the north side of Lake Jennings, has spaces for RVs, trailers, campers and tents. There is a day use fee for sight-seeing, hiking or picnicking per person.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Ryan-Cobain-Youth1-845X450.jpg450845Gayle Falkenthalhttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngGayle Falkenthal2019-07-01 12:51:522019-07-01 13:02:57Helix Water District Selects 2019 Lake Jennings Photo Contest Winners
Matt and Lauren Kirkpatrick of La Mesa are this year’s winner of the Helix Water District’s ‘WaterSmart Landscape Contest,’ an annual competition recognizing outstanding water-wise residential landscapes based on overall attractiveness, design, efficient irrigation and appropriate plant selection and maintenance.
Compared to the previous landscaping with thirsty turf, the new landscaping uses much less water. Photo: Helix Water District
Compared to the thirsty turf in the Kirkpatricks’ previous landscaping, the growing, colorful and entirely native new landscaping requires much less water and creates a place of inspiration and peace for these outdoor enthusiasts. Over the two-month billing period ending this April, the home used just 13 units of water, which is almost 40 percent less than the average water use of other Helix customers. One unit is 748 gallons.
The Kirkpatricks purchased the home in 2014 with a front yard full of grass that required frequent watering and mowing to maintain a modest appearance. In the end, the lawn’s appearance was lackluster, costly, and time consuming for the couple. Taking advantage of SoCal WaterSmart’s turf removal rebate program, the Kirkpatricks tossed their turf for a beautiful native landscape with less maintenance and less water consumption.
The couple chose a native plant pallet so they could enjoy the look, feel and smell of what they love – the California outdoors.
“California natives were an obvious choice,” said Matt Kirkpatrick. “They are a reflection of our love for the plants we know closely from our experiences outdoors. Native plants make us feel at home and give us an appreciation for the beauty of our state.”
Colorful new landscaping already in full spring bloom
Even though the new landscaping is only four months old, it is already in full bloom with California native plants. Photo: Helix Water District
Although only a few months old, the yard already displays a wonderful spring bloom with a wide variety of colors that native landscapes can offer. There are vibrant oranges from hundreds of California poppies, reds from sticky monkey flower, blues from ceanothus, purples from lupine, yellows from yarrow and plenty of green and golds from various shrubs and grasses. At the center of the landscape is a young but promising Engelmann Oak, a signature Southern California tree among wild and urban landscapes.
Plants receive water from rainwater catchment and through an efficient irrigation system, which the couple installed. The landscape captures rainwater from the roof and diverts it into two separate swales designed to absorb the water and allow it time to soak into the soil. The two swales provide water for half of the yard and prevent rainwater from running off into the street. The remaining plants receive water through high-efficiency spray nozzles that were retrofitted onto the existing irrigation system and use less water than the previous sprinklers. The Kirkpatricks only run the system once per month during the warm season.
Native gardens are just one of many different designs of landscapes available to homeowners looking to redesign their thirsty and traditional landscapes. In addition to requiring minimal irrigation beyond rainfall, native gardens are colorful, low maintenance and provide a natural habitat for local wildlife.
Free WaterSmart Landscape Makeover classes provide blueprint for success
The Kirkpatricks took advantage of the Water Authority’s WaterSmart Landscaping classes. Photo: Helix Water District
Like the 2018 Helix landscape contest winners, the Kirkpatricks took advantage of the San Diego County Water Authority’s free WaterSmart Landscape Makeover Program four course series to educate themselves about their options. They then chose a landscaping contractor familiar with native plants which thrive in a residential landscape to bring their plan to life.
The Kirkpatricks will receive their prizes including gift cards totaling $250 and an award certificate at the Helix Water District’s June board of directors meeting The family will also receive a ‘WaterSmart Contest Winner’ sign to display in the yard.
Helix Water District treats and delivers water to over 276,000 people in La Mesa, El Cajon, Lemon Grove and parts of Spring Valley, Lakeside and unincorporated San Diego County.
Water agencies across San Diego County are saving time and money while improving employee safety with drones.
Industry analysts say drone use by water agencies worldwide is growing. The Helix Water District, Otay Water District and the San Diego County Water Authority have embraced the technology, using drones to inspect and monitor facilities, and to map and survey inaccessible areas.
Helix used a drone in February to check rooftop air vents on a water storage tank in El Cajon, rather than send employees high in the sky to do it. The agency determined it was too risky for employees – even with safety equipment – and too costly to have staff inspect the vents outside the 120-foot-high Fletcher Hills Combined Tank.
“We continually look for ways to utilize technologies where appropriate to minimize facility down time and to keep staff safe,” said Carlos Lugo, general manager at Helix. “Drone technology is proving to be a useful and cost-efficient way to survey and keep the district’s facilities properly maintained.”
Drones provide a safe and cost-effective alternative for inspecting the condition of storage tank vents without placing employees at risk or taking the storage tank offline. Photo: Helix Water District
Helix uses drones to inspect interior roof supports of its water storage tanks. The supports are especially vulnerable to corrosion because they are constantly exposed to humidity and heat.
Drone image of a roof bracket inspection. Photo: Helix Water District
Inspecting the storage tank roof supports requires moving 30-foot-high scaffolding from one support to the next, a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. To cut down that time, Helix used a drone to get high-resolution images of the supports. The drone images showed which ones needed repair without moving the scaffolding to each support.
A drone helps reduce the need to move scaffolding to each bracket during inspections. Photo: Helix Water District
“Using drones for this type of inspection work is a simple, elegant and safe solution,” said Jim Tomasulo, Helix’s director of engineering. “We anticipate using drones for this and other purposes.”
Drone inspections of reservoirs, treatment plant
The Otay Water District also is finding drones useful to save money and improve employee safety.
After a two-year study and evaluation period, the district is now using two camera-equipped drones to assist with preliminary inspections of its water facilities in eastern and southern San Diego County, including 40 potable water reservoirs, four recycled water reservoirs, 20 pump stations and a recycled water treatment plant.
Drones Reduce Risk
Countywide, the Water Authority uses drones to monitor rights of way and to survey inaccessible landscapes.
When a drone was used to get images and video of steep terrain on the Second Aqueduct west of Interstate 15 and south of the San Luis Rey River, the images were 10 times higher resolution than stock aerial images. Using the drone also kept staff from being exposed to potentially dangerous conditions.
The Water Authority is also exploring using drones for future surveys and potentially at water transportation, treatment, and storage facilities, where cutting-edge technology is used to save ratepayers money.
Drones are helping the Water Authority monitor rights of way, particularly in areas of rugged terrain.
But the potential of drone use is not limited to visual photography of elevated water tanks and surveying remote areas. Water quality monitoring is another potential application.
Water agencies can use drones with infrared cameras “to monitor water areas remotely at higher spatial resolution than ever before, at low cost and at any time,” Michal Mazur, with Drone Powered Solutions, told Waterworld.com in a recent article about the advances in drone use.
La Mesa, Calif.—Local high school students were honored for their winning photos at an awards ceremony during Helix Water District’s special board meeting on March 20, 2019. Seventy-four students from four schools entered the annual high school photo contest, highlighting the importance and beauty of water in everyday life.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Helix-WD-Logo-Square.jpg200200Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2019-03-20 09:41:042019-03-21 09:49:49Helix Water District High School Photo Contest Winners Highlight Water in Everyday Life
The Helix Water District Board of Directors approved on February 13, 2019 a one-time, $5 million payment in 2019 and an additional $3 million in payments over the next four years to reduce the district’s unfunded employee pension liabilities.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Helix-WD-Logo-Square.jpg200200Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2019-03-11 13:36:232019-03-13 13:39:15Helix Water District Approves $8 Million Pay-Down of Pension Liabilities
La Mesa, Calif.—Helix Water District has launched its eighth annual Lake Jennings Spring Photo Contest to share the beauty of its reservoir with the local community. The contest is open to photos taken at Lake Jennings between March 1 and May 31, 2019.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Helix-WD-Logo-Square.jpg200200Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2019-03-02 11:58:362019-03-19 12:04:34Helix Water District Launches 2019 Lake Jennings Spring Photo Contest
Representatives from the Helix Water District, San Diego Gas & Electric, and the cities of El Cajon, La Mesa and Lemon Grove on September 12 celebrated Helix’s new electric vehicle charging stations in conjunction with National Drive Electric Week and Electric Vehicle Day on September 15.
Helix installed 10 electric vehicle charging stations at the district’s operations center in El Cajon and 10 more at its administration office in La Mesa through SDG&E’s Power Your Drive program, which funded the equipment and installation.
Installing electric vehicle charging stations at its operations center and administration office is the latest cost control initiative undertaken by the Helix Water District. It received rebates of $5,500 from the State of California for each of six Toyota Prius automobiles purchase over the past two years. The vehicles average over 75 miles per gallon. The district expects to save an additional $1,000 per vehicle per year in avoided fuel costs. Integrating electric vehicles into the Helix vehicle fleet will accelerate when hybrid light-duty trucks become available.
But controlling costs isn’t the only motivation for going electric. Helix’s board of directors also wants its district to be part of the solution – to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the sustainability of the communities it serves and the sustainability of California’s water resources.
The Power Your Drive program is for companies and their employees, and apartment and condominium complexes and their residents, and is part of SDG&E’s commitment to comply with Governor Brown’s goal of having 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles in California by 2025. SDG&E has installed more than 900 electric vehicle charging nozzles to date. The power utility’s goal is to install 3,000 nozzles at about 300 sites throughout San Diego County.
Controlling energy costs a priority for the Helix Water District
Front to back: Helix board President Kathleen Hedberg, Helix Director Mark Gracyk, Lemon Grove councilwoman Jennifer Mendoza, Helix director Dan McMillan, El Cajon deputy director of public works Yazmin Arellano, SDG&E electric vehicle customer solutions manager Lianna Rios and La Mesa analyst Jenny Lybeck. Arellano and Lybeck manage their city’s climate action plan. Photo: Courtesy Helix Water District
Energy cost Helix Water District $2.2 million during the past fiscal year, primarily to pump water throughout the agency’s distribution system, which serves 275,000 people in El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley and other unincorporated areas of the county. Controlling energy costs, and their impact on water rates, is a priority for the district.
Helix maintains operations and design standards that reduce its energy demand during peak periods when energy prices are higher, and it purchases energy through the State of California’s Direct Access Program, saving an average of 18 percent on commodity costs. The district continually evaluates opportunities to replace aging infrastructure with energy efficient solutions. Smart building systems at each of the district’s facilities and a solar energy system at its operations center further reduce energy demands and costs.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Helix-FeaturedImage-845X450.jpg450845Gayle Falkenthalhttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngGayle Falkenthal2018-09-16 20:16:062018-09-16 20:16:06Helix Water District Is Going Electric
Residents are invited to celebrate water at the East County Water Festival from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8 at the East County Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Project Visitor Center in Santee.
This free, fun-filled, water-themed event takes place for the first time this year. Members of the East County community as well as other interested San Diegans are invited to participate in interactive activities for adults and children.
Among the Water Festival’s highlights:
Visitors to the East County Water Festival on Sept. 8 can tour the East County Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Facility. Photo: Courtesy Padre Dam MWD
Tour the East County Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Facility to learn about the science of cleaning and purifying wastewater.
Enjoy free food and sample iced coffee using purified recycled water.
Participate in face-painting, take-home crafts and much more.
The event is hosted by the Padre Dam Municipal Water District. The Advanced Water Purification Program is a regional partnership with Padre Dam, Helix Water District, City of El Cajon and the County of San Diego. To sign up to attend and for location details, go to www.EastCountyAWP.com.
Interactive displays will interest kids of all ages at the East County Water Festival on Sept. 8. Photo: Courtesy Padre Dam MWD
About the East County Advanced Water Purification Program and Padre Dam Municipal Water District
The East County Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Facility treats recycled water to create 100,000 gallons of purified water each day. The facility uses the same state-of-the-art technology that provides water to Disneyland and more than 600,000 Orange County residents. The Advanced Water Purification Program could ultimately produce up to 30 percent of the drinking water for residents in the Padre Dam Municipal Water District and Helix Water District water service areas.
Padre Dam provides water, sewer, recycled water and recreation services to approximately 100,000 residents in East San Diego County, including Santee, El Cajon, Lakeside, Flinn Springs, Harbison Canyon, Blossom Valley, Alpine, Dehesa and Crest. The district currently imports 100 percent of its drinking water supply and treats two million gallons per day of wastewater at its Water Recycling Facility. Go to www.padredam.org for more information.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Water-Fair-Group-845X450.jpg450845Gayle Falkenthalhttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngGayle Falkenthal2018-08-27 00:31:132018-08-27 00:31:13Celebrate the Future of East County’s Water at Sept. 8 Water Festival
La Mesa, Calif. – Helix Water District’s Water Quality Report for calendar year 2017 has been published and posted to the district’s website. A Spanish version is also available. The annual Water Quality report contains important information about the source and quality of consumers’ drinking water.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Helix-WD-Logo-Square.jpg200200Gayle Falkenthalhttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngGayle Falkenthal2018-06-25 09:17:172018-06-26 17:49:55Helix Water District’s Annual Water Quality Report Now Available For Viewing Online
