What was once a thirsty lawn is now a peaceful, thriving, water-efficient paradise.
Helix Water District announced Nick Voinov as the winner of its 2022 WaterSmart Landscape Contest. The annual competition recognizes outstanding water-wise residential landscapes based on overall attractiveness, design, efficient irrigation and appropriate plant selection and maintenance.
The East County Advanced Water Purification Program broke ground, marking an important milestone for the recycled water project in San Diego County. Scheduled to be complete in 2026, the East County AWP will generate up to 11.5 million gallons per day of purified water— meeting approximately 30% of current drinking water demands for East San Diego County.
The East County Advanced Water Purification Program broke ground, marking an important milestone for the recycled water project in San Diego County.
Scheduled to be complete in 2026, the East County AWP will generate up to 11.5 million gallons per day of purified water— meeting approximately 30% of current drinking water demands for East San Diego County residents and businesses.
Program representatives, elected officials and water industry leaders gathered at the future site of the treatment facility in Santee to celebrate the East County AWP. The project will create a new, local, sustainable and drought-proof drinking water supply using state-of-the-art technology to purify East San Diego County’s recycled water.
Officials in attendance included representatives from the East County AWP Joint Powers Authority, San Diego County Water Authority, Bureau of Reclamation, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“In 2045, potable reuse projects are going to provide up to 20% of the water that we need here in San Diego County,” said San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl. “This region has been excellent in its innovation and planning for water needs for the region and this project is just another step in that process. I want to congratulate everyone involved in this project in developing another drought-resilient supply for the region.”
“In this year when many areas of California and the West are facing extreme hardships with drought, the East County AWP is really another step forward in reliability for its water supply partners and the region.” — @sdcwa G.M. Sandra L. Kerl, https://t.co/k1Wh7QxzGf pic.twitter.com/sc97zUFaZw
— San Diego County Water Authority (@sdcwa) June 1, 2022
The groundbreaking follows approval of project construction on May 19, 2022, by the East County AWP Joint Powers Authority that owns and operates the Program and is a collaborative partnership between four agencies: Padre Dam, the City of El Cajon, the County of San Diego and Helix Water District. The overall cost for the project is $950 million and estimated to create 2,500 jobs in the region.
The project will use four advanced water purification steps to produce water that is near-distilled in quality.
“Today marks an exciting moment for our East San Diego County customers,” said Allen Carlisle, Padre Dam and JPA Administrator CEO/General Manager. “We are now one step closer to creating a local, reliable and sustainable drinking water source that will reduce our dependence on increasingly expensive imported water. The East County Advanced Water Purification Program is a smart investment that provides a long-term solution for increased stability in our communities and safeguards the vitality of our economy and quality of life.”
After the advanced water purification process, the purified water will be blended with water in Lake Jennings and treated again at Helix Water District’s R.M. Levy Water Treatment Plant before being distributed as drinking water.
“In addition to providing a new local water supply, the Program will eliminate the need to send most of East County’s wastewater to the City of San Diego’s Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it is currently treated and then discharged into the ocean,” said Kyle Swanson, Padre Dam Incoming CEO/General Manager. “The East County Advanced Water Purification Program will benefit not only our customers and the community, but our shared environment too.”
The East County AWP has secured more than $123 million in grant funding and up to $796 million in low interest loans to help finance the project. East County AWP officials anticipate receiving additional state and federal grant funding to help pay for the project.
“As California adapts to an increasingly arid climate, expanding our water supply portfolio with 21st century investments in water recycling, like the East County Advanced Water Purification program is critical,” said Joaquin Esquivel, Chair, State Water Resources Control Board. “Thanks to state and federal leadership, we have a generational opportunity to support the affordability and viability of this and other water supply projects throughout the state. Local leadership and vision are what have made this project a reality and helped to show that we can turn climate anxiety into climate action.”
(Editor’s note: The Padre Dam Municipal Water District and the Helix Water District are two of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
The Helix Water District Board of Directors honored East County student artists for their winning “Water Is Life” posters in an online awards ceremony during its May 2022 board meeting.
Southern California students in kindergarten through eighth grade are invited to participate in their regional water agency’s Student Poster Art Contest to increase awareness about water conservation.
The city of San Diego pursued its massive wastewater-to-drinking water recycling program, in part, because the federal government said it had to. Millions of gallons of undertreated sewage enters the Pacific Ocean through the city’s aging Point Loma treatment plant on the regular; Pure Water is the region’s first step toward a solution.
But now, a bloc of eastern San Diego County water agencies is building their own recycling project because, they say, the cost of buying imported water from the drought-ravaged Colorado River is unsustainable.
The Helix Water District Board of Directors honored East County student artists for their winning “Water Is Life” posters in an online awards ceremony during its May 2022 board meeting.
Southern California students in kindergarten through eighth grade are invited to participate in their regional water agency’s Student Poster Art Contest to increase awareness about water conservation. This year, 349 students from 22 schools within the Helix Water District submitted their posters depicting how to use water wisely, a 33% increase in entries from the 2021 competition.
First Place – Aiden Galaz, Vista La Mesa Academy, Grade 3. Photo: Helix Water District
Second Place – Charlotte Pierce, Christ Lutheran School, Grade 3Second Place – Charlotte Pierce, Christ Lutheran School, Grade 3. Photo: Helix Water District.
Third Place – Belen Cardenas Loera, Lighthouse Christian Academy, Grade 2. Photo: Helix Water District
Honorable Mention – Clare Brandt, Our Lady of Grace School, Grade 3. Photo: Helix Water District
Honorable Mention – Gabrielle Portilla, Lakeview Elementary Elementary, Grade 3. Photo: Helix Water District
First Place – Abraham Hernandez, STEAM Academy @ La Presa, Grade 6. Photo: Helix Water District
Second Place – Abigail Payne, Christ Lutheran School, Grade 8. Photo: Helix Water District 2022
Third Place – Catalina Jones, Lemon Avenue Elementary, Grade 6. Photo: Helix Water District
Honorable Mention – Kayla V. Osuna, STEAM Academy @ La Presa, Grade 7. Photo: Helix Water District
Honorable Mention – Lindsay Lu, Christ Lutheran School, Grade 8. Photo: Helix Water District
Winners now move on to compete with other regional winners for the opportunity to appear in the 2023 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California calendar.
Third-grader Lucas Regimbal from Christ Lutheran La Mesa School in the Helix Water District was the youngest of four San Diego County residents to appear in the 2022 MWDD “Water Is Life” calendar.
Lucas explained his message. “I think there are so many big things to do to save water and conserve. But there are also many little things we can do as well. A lot of little things come up to some very big things. By fixing drips, each home or business can save hundreds of gallons of water per year. That means a lot if lots of families and business did this one little thing.”
(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.)
Helix Water District honored local student artists for their winning Water Is Life posters at an awards ceremony during Helix Water District’s board meeting on May 24, 2022.
Each year, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, one of Helix’s wholesale water providers, holds a regional poster contest for students in kindergarten through eighth grade to increase students’ awareness about water.
Helix promotes the contest to all K-8 schools within its service area. This year, 349 students from 22 schools submitted posters depicting how to use water wisely.
San Diego’s top brass offered on Thursday to pony up more than $33 million to resolve a hotly disputed pipeline deal between the city and East County concerning two large water recycling projects.
The move comes as the parties inch closer to what could become a protracted legal battle, with serious implications for the East County Advanced Water Purification Project and the city’s massive $5 billion Pure Water sewage recycling venture.
East County officials fear a $950 million sewage recycling project could get flushed down the drain because of a pipeline deal gone awry.
Leaders spearheading the endeavor blame San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria — who signed off on building an eight-mile “brine line” as recently as last year but has since reneged on that commitment.
The pipeline would prevent concentrated waste generated by the East County project’s reverse osmosis filtration system from entering into the city’s own $5 billion Pure Water sewage recycling project now under construction. Instead the byproduct would be routed into the city’s larger wastewater system.
Proactive efforts by the Helix Water District have saved thousands of dollars per year in the district’s energy costs, and are helping it transition to renewable energy.
Helix buys most of its electricity through the State of California’s Direct Access Program and the electric service provider it contracts with, Calpine Energy Solutions.
