Tag Archive for: San Diego County Water Authority

Water Service Shut-Off Bill Opposed by Water Authority

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

A coalition of organizations, including the San Diego County Water Authority, is opposing proposed state legislation that would change existing water service shut-off procedures used by public water agencies when customers become significantly delinquent on water bill payments.

Senate Bill 998 by Senator Bill Dodd (Napa) would replace current shut-off processes, which are tailored by local water districts to meet the needs of their agency customers. Despite the absence of state data showing current policies create a significant problem in California, the bill would impose a new “one-size-fits-all” statewide program.

The bill, should it become law, would prevent service shut-offs for at least 60 days for delinquent customers; create a cap on reconnection fees that may or may not cover the associated costs; trigger Proposition 218 concerns for public water agencies; and expand authority of the State Water Resources Control Board and the Attorney General to enforce provisions of the bill.

SB 998 would effectively force agencies to subsidize the cost of providing service to delinquent customers. Agencies could be compelled to decrease their level of service to customers who have been paying in a timely manner by diverting resources to non-paying customers because the bill does not provide sufficient additional revenue to cover related costs.

While SB 998 is intended to assist residents with financial hardship, the bill fails to account for other disadvantaged customers, including seniors and the disabled, whose rates could increase as a result.

Another impact of SB 998 would be diverting resources from local health departments to preventing water service shut-offs, instead of the many critical services they currently provide to children, seniors and others. Despite its intent, SB 998 would harm ratepayers’ rights to safe and affordable drinking water – a violation of the “human right to water” adopted by the state.

The Water Authority’s Board of Directors is on record opposing SB 998 and its cost-shifting policies, as is the Association of California Water Agencies.

 

Great Groundcovers To Consider as Lawn Substitutes

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You may have decided to replace your thirsty traditional lawn in your new sustainable landscape. What options are available for  some kind of natural plant element rather than covering the same area with hardscaping?  

Consider replacing the lawn with a groundcover type plant. There are many good choices that make good lawn substitutes and grow well in San Diego’s six climate zones. Several of them fall into the very low or low Plant Factor categories, which means they require less water than the same amount of grass.  

Very Low Plant Factor choices include: 

  • Silver Carpet (Dymondia margaretae) 
  • Bluff California Lilac (Ceanothus maritimus)

Low Plant Factor choices include:  

Lawn Substitutes groundcovers

Bee’s bliss sage also attracts valuable pollinators.

  • Pink Yarrow (Achillea millefolium rosea) 
  • Gold Coin Plant (Asteriscus maritumus) 
  • Sundrops (Calylophus hartwegii)
    Carmel Mountain ceanothus 
  • Dwarf Mat Rush (Lomandra longfolia) 
  • Bee’s Bliss Sage (Salvia) 
  • Wooly Thyme (Thymus pseudolanguinosus) 
  • Blue Chalksticks (Senecio serpens) 

Moderate Plant Factor choices include: 

Beach Strawberry lawn substitutes

Beach Strawberry makes an attractive lawn substitute.

  • Creeping Manzanita ‘Carmel Sur’ (Arctostaphylos edmunsii) 
  • Beach Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) 
  • Pink yarrow, sages, and lilacs also support the lifecycle of butterflies, which are important pollinators.  

This article was inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.   

READ MORE: Inspiring Charge At The Water Conservation Garden

 

 

  

Bobby Bond Jr. shows the skills that won him the title of "Master Opeartor" at the 2018 MSA San DIego/APWA Skills Competition. Poto: Courtesy MSA San DIego

Water Authority A Winner At Skills Competition

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Two San Diego County Water Authority employees took home first place honors in the annual – and unusual – competition that tests the mettle of public works professionals with backhoes, wheelbarrows and other tools of the trade.

Bobby Bond Jr. of the San Diego County Water Authority wins the title of "Master Operator" at the MSA San Diego/APWA 2018 Skills Competition. Photo: Courtesy MSA San DIego

Bobby Bond Jr. of the San Diego County Water Authority wins the title of “Master Operator” at the MSA San Diego/APWA 2018 Skills Competition. Photo: Courtesy MSA San DIego

And one Water Authority veteran – Bobby Bond Jr. – earned the title of 2018 Master Operator for completing all the events in the lowest combined time.

Twelve teams of four crew members participated, and 24 operators vied for the title of Master Operator at the July event hosted by the San Diego Chapter of the Maintenance Supervisors Association and American Public Works Association in Chula Vista.

The City of Chula Vista won the team title for 2018, followed by the City of El Cajon and the Water Authority in third place. Representing the Water Authority was the four-man team of Bond, Patrick Barreiro, John Brown and Tony Cepeda.

Brown took first in the backhoe operator category, and Cepeda won first place in the wheelbarrow skills. He said his co-workers have been supportive and happy with the Water Authority team’s third place finish.

“It’s fun, it’s teamwork building, and having a good time,” he said. “We work with each other every day, we are like a family here.”

Annual event tests same skills used maintaining vital infrastructure

The annual event tests the same skills participants use while maintaining water and wastewater systems, streets, and other vital infrastructure residents and businesses rely on every day. Tasks included Backhoe Skills, Skid Steer Skills, Mini-Excavator Skills, Sign Assembly, and Wheelbarrow Skills. The team with the best overall combined time won the perpetual trophy, along with bragging rights.

After winning the backhoe category in 2017, Bond captured the 2018 Master Operator title by completing tasks in the lowest overall combined time. He said the competition may be challenging, but it is child’s play compared to the work he and his colleagues perform every day for the Water Authority.

“I’ve dug around utilities including chemical lines, fiber optic lines, and around aqueducts,” said Bond. “I once dug a water line 200 feet and crossed 40 different utilities.”

Brown agrees. “Knocking a tennis ball off a cone (in competition) equals breaking a pipe potentially” on the job, he said.

Cepeda, a Maintenance Worker I who has been with the Water Authority just over a year, helps maintain roads along major Water Authority pipeline corridors and other major structures. “I went for it, gave it a shot, and out of luck I took first place,” said Cepeda. His strategy in maneuvering the wheelbarrow on the course against the clock? “Just run fast!”

Also winning honors was David Hernado of the Vallecitos Water District, who placed first in the Sign Assembly Skills Competition.

Brown and Bond Jr. will compete for Water Authority in upcoming national competition

John Brown of the San Diego County Water Authority wins the Backhoe Skills category at the MSA San Diego/APWA 2018 Skills Competition. Photo: Courtesy MSA San DIego

Along with the good-natured competition, the event’s main objective is to provide valuable training, and showcase the Maintenance Supervisors Association vendors who provide the materials, supplies, and equipment needed to keep regional public works functioning at their highest level. Three hundred members attended this year’s event.

APWA will sponsor the top two equipment operators including Brown and Bond Jr. to compete at the 2018 APWA PWX National APWA ROADEO in Kansas City, Missouri on August 28-29. “We’re real busy at work, we’re running every day,” said Bond, which will allow him and Brown to get in plenty of practice before heading to Kansas City.

The full list of results:

Wheel Barrow Skills Competition:

Tony Cepeda of the San Diego County Water Authority wins the Wheel Barrow Skills category at the MSA San Diego/APWA 2018 Skills Competition. Photo: Courtesy MSA San DIego

1st Place
Tony Cepeda, San Diego County Water Authority 1 minute, 1 second

2nd Place
Sean McRory, City of Encinitas, 1 minute, 2 seconds

3rd Place
Margarito Corado, City of Chula Vista, 1 minute, 4 Seconds
Mario Serrano, City of Vista, 1 minute, 4 Seconds

Sign Assembly Skills Competition:

1st Place – Tie
David Hernado, Vallecitos Water District. 2 minutes, 29 Seconds

2nd Place
Esteban Garcia, City of El Cajon, 2 minutes, 34 Seconds

3rd Place
Arturo Garcia, City of San Diego, 2 minutes, 38 Seconds

Backhoe Operator Competition:

1st Place
John Brown, San Diego County Water Authority, 1 minute, 35 Seconds

2nd Place
Bobby Bond, San Diego County Water Authority, 1 minutes, 36 Seconds

3rd Place
Bryce Greschke, City of Poway, 1 minute, 51 Seconds

Skid Steer Operator Competition:

1st Place
Brian Smith, City of La Mesa, 1 minutes, 40 Seconds

2nd Place
Derek Imoto, City of Encinitas, 2 minutes, 11 Seconds

3rd Place
John Brown, San Diego County Water Authority, 2 minutes, 33 Seconds

Mini Excavator Operator Competition:

1st Place
Geovanni Meza, City of El Cajon, 38 Seconds

2nd Place
John Collingwood, City of San Diego, 39 Seconds

3rd Place
Bobby Bond, San Diego County Water Authority, 47 Seconds

Overall “Roadeo” Competition Champions

1st Place
City of Chula Vista, 9 minutes, 56 Seconds

2nd Place
City of El Cajon, 10 minutes, 26 Seconds

3rd Place
San Diego County Water Authority, 11 minutes, 5 Seconds

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

/in , /by /Fox 5 San Diego

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.

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CWA Approves Water Service Agreement With Sycuan

/in , /by /East County Californianby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority approved a water service agreement with the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.

The SDCWA approved the agreement on a July 26 board vote with no opposition and Padre Dam Municipal Water District general manager Doug Wilson, who is Padre Dam’s representative on the CWA board, recusing himself.

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Water Authority Conditionally Backs $17 Billion Delta Tunnels Plan

/in , /by /Times of San Diego Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority’s board of directors gave conditional support Thursday to the California WaterFix, the state’s $17 billion plan to upgrade key water infrastructure.

San Diego joins the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles and Santa Clara County Water District in Silicon Valley in backing one Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature long-term projects.

The massive project would divert water from the Sacramento River as it enters the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and carry it to existing federal and state pumping stations in the southern part of the delta through one or two 35-mile tunnels.

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With a little thoughtful planning and good choices, lawn can still be a good choice in waterwise landscaping. Photo: Pixabay/Cromaconceptovisual Waterwise Lawns

When It Comes To Lawns, Use it or Lose It

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If you have a desire and a need to retain turf as part of your landscaping, consider adopting the most efficient and organic maintenance plan possible. Lawns that are maintained organically and with efficient irrigation can offer a cool, practical surface for active recreation, or just hanging out with your family.  

Most lawns suffer from inefficient maintenance. They require too much water and energy. They become major sources of pollution from fertilizers and pesticide runoff. For these reasons, lawns should be limited to accessible, usable, high-functioning spaces like children’s play yards, sports fields, and picnicking areas. 

It’s smart to rethink the idea of lawns as all-purpose, wall-to-wall groundcover. In many cases, there is no need to maintain so much lawn. If you decide to keep your grass areas, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically. 

If you decide to keep your grass areas, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically. Photo: Alicja/Creative Commons Waterwise Lawns

If you decide to keep your grass areas, follow these guidelines to maintain it organically. Photo: Alicja/Creative Commo

  • Apply a thin layer of compost annually. 
  • Aerate and de-thatch your lawn annually. 
  • Manage your irrigation carefully. Control overspray and fix problems promptly. 
  • Mow less frequently. Maintain 3 to 4 inches of height on cool season grass, and 1.5 to 2 inches of height on warm season grass.  
  • Grass-cycle every time you mow. 
  • Don’t allow seed heads to form on the grass, and remove those that do form. 
  • Consider over-seeding with clover to help make the grass more interesting looking and more drought-tolerant. 
  • Eliminate chemical inputs to your grass. 

What’s the difference between Cool Season Grass and Warm Season Grass? 

Cool Season Grass: 

  • Needs more water than warm season grass and is considered a high use plant. 
  • Requires watering in hot summers to prevent it from going dormant and turning brown 
  • Grows typically as bunch grasses and propagates by seed or weak stolons. 
  • Cool season grass is easily smothered by sheet mulching.
  • Varieties include: Bent Grass (Agrostis), Fescue varieties (Festuca), Kentucky Bluegress (Poa pratensis), Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne) 

Warm Season Grass: 

  • Is a moderate water use plant. 
  • Peaks when temperatures exceed 80 degrees, but it will go dormant (brown) in winter months when it is rainy and cool. 
  • Grows from sturdy rhizomes extending deep underground. Warm season grasses require physical removal and/or extensive sheet mulching (up to 12 inches).
  • Varieties inclue: Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylan), Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis), Buffalo Grass (Buchloe actyloides), St. Augustine Grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), Zoysia, and Seashore Paspalum.  

This article was inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.   

READ MORE: Evapotranspiration – The Key To Watering Your Plants

 

  

Efficiencies Lower Long-Term Water Demand Forecast for San Diego Region

/in , /by by Water News Network Staff

Updated water-use projections for the San Diego region through 2040 are substantially lower than earlier forecasts due to efficiencies that have become standard practice at homes and businesses countywide.

That’s good news because it signals the potential for lower spending on water supply development and delivery in coming decades compared to previous forecasts.

The revised demand forecast by the San Diego County Water Authority also highlights how the region continues to align with state mandates for water-use efficiency even after nearly three decades of significant savings. Per capita potable water use in the Water Authority’s service area declined nearly 50 percent between fiscal years 1990 and 2017.

Changing Water-Use Habits Prompt ‘Reset’

Project water demands in San Diego County based on normal year conditions. Graphic: Water Authority

Project water demands in San Diego County based on normal-year conditions. Graphic: Water Authority

Revisions to the region’s water demand forecast were designed to align the Water Authority’s planning document with current water-use trends. Through the Urban Water Management Plan, the agency updates demand forecasts every five years, with the next comprehensive update in 2020.

However, emergency state regulations related to the 2012-2016 drought combined with the ongoing transformation of the landscaping market toward low-water-use designs and other factors significantly lowered water use between the formal five-year planning periods. That change prompted the interim demand “reset” by the region’s water wholesaler.

Instead of projecting 588,000 acre-feet of demand in 2020, the Water Authority now anticipates demand will be at 537,000 acre-feet – a reduction of approximately 9 percent. Projections through 2040 follow suit, so that annual demand is projected to be 655,000 acre-feet at the far end of the Water Authority’s planning horizon instead of 719,000 acre-feet.

“We wanted the forecast to reflect current conditions and demand levels, and we also wanted to have an inclusive process for receiving input from our member agencies,” said Tim Bombardier, principal water resources specialist for the Water Authority. “The net effect is that the interim demand forecast reset shifts the entire line down by about 60,000 acre-feet for the entire 2020 to 2040 planning horizon.”

The demand reset is intended as a provisional update, and a comprehensive update of the forecast will coincide with preparation of the Water Authority’s 2020 Urban Water Management Plan. Decreased demands change the amount of supplies necessary in future years, an issue the Water Authority will assess in detail when developing the 2020 plan. That process will start in late 2018.

Water Authority General Manager Maureen Stapleton, State Sen. Ben Hueso, Water Authority Board Chair Mark Muir, and Christy Guerin, chair of the Water Authority’s Legislation and Public Outreach Committee (left to right). Photo: Water Authority

State Sen. Hueso’s Interest in Water Runs Deep

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San Diego County is a leader in water conservation and management strategies that will become even more critical in coming years, state Sen. Ben Hueso (San Diego) said during an Aug. 1 Legislative Roundtable at the San Diego County Water Authority’s headquarters.

“San Diego is really a model in the state,” Hueso told an audience of about 90 water agency representatives, business and civic leaders and other stakeholders from around the county who attended the morning event. “San Diego leads the state in conservation. How we’re able to manage the system without an increase in the growth of consumption is just amazing. It’s just a testament to the great minds and people that we have managing our system, ensuring that we continue to have water … given the enormous challenges we have in providing for San Diego compared to other parts of the state.”

The Water Authority regularly hosts roundtables to hear from elected officials about water issues and other important developments in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., and to promote collaboration with civic, business and elected leaders in ensuring continued water supply reliability for the region.

“We’re so pleased Senator Hueso could join us today because he plays such an important role in water issues and water plays such a critical role in our region,” said Mark Muir, chair of the Water Authority’s Board of Directors. “Senator Hueso has been a true champion in protecting important independent water supplies for San Diego and has always been willing to work closely with us to balance all the important interests related to those water supplies.”

Hueso has been a leader on water issues since he was elected to the state Senate in 2013. He  chairs the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications, and he also sits on the Natural Resources and Water Committee. His 40th Senate District includes cities in south San Diego County, the southern portion of the City of San Diego, and all of Imperial County. A former San Diego City Councilmember, Hueso was elected to the state Assembly in 2010 and previously chaired the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.

Finding Common Ground

Hueso’s commitment to water started as a youngster delivering newspapers. “Every morning when I used to fold those papers I would see ‘Drought,’ ‘Drought,’ ‘Drought.’ ‘Water scarcity.’ ‘Water scarcity,” he said. “If you’re a native San Diegan, that’s something you hear about a lot.”

Drought or no, water remains an important topic in the nation’s largest state, creating a complex challenge for policymakers. “It gets complicated when you consider that our water policy in California started in 1848 before our state was even formed with the Treaty of (Guadalupe) Hidalgo – the treaty with Mexico,” Hueso said. “There was actual language in that treaty that was aimed at protecting property rights and water rights for the people that owned property back then. And those water rights still apply.”

While those complexities can create division, they also create opportunity for bipartisan solutions. “The most important things that we’ve done in the state of California have been bipartisan,” Hueso said. “And that has taken effort. It has taken effort on both sides to come to a common ground and say we’re going to agree to do what’s in the best interest of the state in general. And when there has been an urgent matter facing the people of California, both sides have come together to forge relations and form solutions that truly help everyone.”

How that will play out in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta is still unclear, even as the state pursues a $17 billion project called California WaterFix that involves routing water underneath the Bay-Delta in twin tunnels.

A sense of urgency at the Salton Sea

Salton Sea restoration – a legislatively mandated responsibility of the State of California – is another priority for Hueso.

“My focus is set on how do we solve this problem, what’s the best vehicle, and how can we do it in a way that still takes care of the public funds,” he said. “We have to be mindful of how to spend this money because we don’t have a lot of it. We have to stretch every penny, stretch every dime, and there’s really little room for error. And that’s how I think we need to proceed.”

Then he added: “I really believe in creating an agency that is going to focus on solving this problem. We really need an agency that has a sense of urgency.”

 

 

San Diego County Water Authority Board Chairman Mark Muir. Photo: Water Authority Historic water deal

Historic Water Deal Provides Less Expensive, More Reliable Supplies

/in , /by /San Diego County Water Authorityby Mark Muir, Board Chair

A historic achievement for the San Diego region passed almost unnoticed when the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors adopted new wholesale water rates in late June.

The rate-setting process highlighted how the Water Authority’s independent water supplies from the Colorado River are now both less expensive and more reliable than supplies from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. It’s an accomplishment that the region’s water officials started working toward two decades ago, and one that will bear fruit for decades to come.

The value of our independent water supplies will grow in coming years given the rapid increases in MWD’s rates, which have risen far faster than the cost of the Water Authority’s Colorado River supplies secured in 2003 through a complex, multi-state pact known as the Quantification Settlement Agreement.

Historic agreeement secures San Diego economy and quality of life

From the start, that landmark deal helped secure our economy and quality of life by giving us a major new source of water with a higher priority – or legal right – to Colorado River water than MWD. The agreement allowed the Water Authority to transfer increasingly large amounts of conserved water from the Imperial Valley to San Diego, so that by 2020 it will meet about half of our region’s projected water demand.

That visionary agreement also minimized the impact of MWD’s water delivery cutbacks during the past two droughts. In 2015, for example, MWD reduced water deliveries by 15 percent, but the Water Authority’s independent supplies meant we had enough water to meet 99 percent of normal demand.

While the supply benefits of the conservation-and-transfer agreement have long been clear, the region is just now starting to feel the cost benefits as well.

Here’s why: At the start, our independent Colorado River supplies were more expensive than MWD water. However, the cost of the Water Authority’s independent Colorado River supplies is controlled by a contract linked to the rate of inflation, which means those costs are rising far more slowly than MWD’s rates and charges.

Millions in savings achieved

In addition, the Water Authority has benefited from lawsuits that forced MWD to drop illegal charges for delivering our independent Colorado River supplies. A 2017 appellate court ruling netted the Water Authority about $15 million in savings in 2019, with tens of millions of additional savings in years to come.

The combined effect is that the Water Authority’s independent Colorado River supplies are less expensive than MWD supplies by $44 per acre-foot this year. In 2019, the difference will grow to $68 per acre-foot, and in 2020 our independent supplies are projected to be less expensive by $121 per acre-foot.

That’s worth celebrating because it means regional wholesale water rate increases in 2019 are among the lowest in 15 years – a testament to the all those who have worked for decades to secure a safe, reliable and cost-effective water supply for everyone who calls this place home.