When Denee and Bryan Felber bought their Chula Vista home back in 2011, the entire front and back yard were the quintessential SoCal dream: lawn. About three years in, the couple, who have four grown children, started to make some practical upgrades, installing both energy efficient windows and solar panels.
Valley Center Municipal Water District and its customers are long accustomed to dealing with periodic aqueduct shutdowns which allow the district’s sole wholesale water supplier, the San Diego County Water Authority, to inspect, repair, and make improvements to our imported water aqueduct system.
However, this coming winter will be especially challenging, as there will be three consecutive aqueduct shutdowns in fairly rapid succession: (1) December 4 –14, 2022, (2) January 22 – February 1, 2023, and (3) February 26 – March 8, 2023.
At play is the fact that the three tunnels on the 1st San Diego Aqueduct (“1st Aqueduct”) need to be relined to protect the quality of the treated water traveling north to south through the enclosed aqueduct, and restore its operational integrity. The 1st Aqueduct serves five of VCMWD’s seven Aqueduct Connections, spanning the full length of the District’s 100-square-mile service area. Although VCMWD does have a connection to the 2nd San Diego Aqueduct (“2nd Aqueduct”), the 1st Aqueduct provides water to approximately 85% of the District’s service area. Completed in the early 1950s, the 1st Aqueduct began serving the fledgling Valley Center Municipal Water District soon after its formation election in 1954 and has served the district continuously for 67 years.
As California enters a fourth straight year of drought, more residents are taking advantage of free, online webinars helping them create a beautiful, water-efficient outdoor landscape. New three-hour workshops are now scheduled through December, funded in part by the County of San Diego Watershed Protection Program.
Taught by local landscape professionals, upcoming webinars focus on specific landscape topics with a “do-it-yourself” approach. From plant choices and irrigation to design and maintenance, the webinars offer timely help on upgrading landscapes with low water use plants and other design touches.
“The workshops give people the skills and knowledge to create an outdoor space that is sustainable and water-efficient,” said Joni German, a water resources specialist for the San Diego County Water Authority. “Residents can also take advantage of other free WaterSmart resources, including rebates for replacing grass and other outdoor and indoor incentives.”
Registration is required for the online workshops. Weekday workshops are held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday workshops from 9:00 a.m. to Noon. Register here.
Outdoor watering accounts for more than half of a typical household’s water use in California. The online classes can help residents create a drought-tolerant, water-efficient landscape with a design that maximizes enjoyment of the outdoor space.
Homeowners and businesses in San Diego County can receive between $2 and $4 per square foot to remove turf and replace it with low water-use plants suited to the hot and dry conditions that are common in our region. All customers are eligible for the base rebate of $2 per square foot; some agencies offer additional funding, including the City of San Diego and the County of San Diego.
Help conserve water by transforming your outdoor spaces into a WaterSmart Landscape. @sdcwa offers free do-it-yourself workshops taught local landscape design professionals. You can now watch recordings of past workshops too! https://t.co/4U0zuAc7gO pic.twitter.com/jrnELsKNsk
— San Diego County Sustainability (@SDCoSustainable) October 16, 2022
Rebates, classes and incentives available to all residents and businesses in San Diego County. Residents in unincorporated San Diego County, may be eligible for additional incentives through the Waterscape Rebate Program.
While San Diego County’s investments in supply reliability continue to protect the region, national weather models suggest drought will continue to strain water resources across the West and make water conservation a priority in 2023. Additional free, online WaterSmart landscape workshops are planned for 2023.
(Editor’s Note: The San Diego County Water Authority sustains a $240 billion regional economy and the quality of life for 3.3 million residents through a multi-decade water supply diversification plan, major infrastructure investments and forward-thinking policies that promote fiscal and environmental responsibility. A public agency created in 1944, the Water Authority delivers wholesale water supplies to 24 retail water providers, including cities, special districts and a military base.)
Farmers and other ratepayers in Fallbrook and Rainbow could see an average saving on their water bills of more than $20 a month by joining the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County, according to a new report.
The Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant has served more than 100 billion gallons of water over the past seven years — a milestone reached in late October, the San Diego County Water Authority and plant owners announced Tuesday.
The plant, which produces 50 million gallons of drinking water daily, enough for 400,000 homes meeting 10% of San Diego County’s water demand, is the largest in the United States.
The cost of water has over last two decades risen dramatically across San Diego County as a result of investments in desalination, ongoing maintenance, ever-increasing energy prices and unprecedented conservation. However, not everyone’s feeling those impacts equally. Rates vary considerably among the region’s two dozen local water agencies, according to an analysis done last year by the Otay Water District. For example, a typical 1,100 cubic feet of water costs about $90 a month in the city of San Diego, compared to nearly $137 in the Padre Dam Municipal Water District.
Thousands of San Diegans are struggling to pay their water bills as shutoffs resume across much of the state. Experts fear the burden will only get worse as the cost of water continues to soar, driven in part by ongoing historic drought.
However, federal emergency cash is now providing temporary relief for many low-income residents — up to $2,000 for unpaid water bills.
Neena Kuzmich, Deputy Director of Engineering at San Diego County Water Authority, with more on the San Vicente Energy Storage Facility Project.
San Diego County Water Authority aims to provide thousands of homes with power by storing energy in the San Vicente Reservoir.
Neena Kuzmich of the @sdcwa joined FOX Weather to discuss this proposal and how the project would work. @MarissaTorresTV pic.twitter.com/a1DQ1JEPF6
— FOX Weather (@foxweather) October 27, 2022
The Water News Network was awarded first place as the Best Public Service or Consumer Advocacy Website in the 49th annual San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. It’s the fifth consecutive year the WNN website has won first place in that category. The award for best public service website is one of seven awards the WNN received during a ceremony October 25 at Balboa Park.
The San Diego County Water Authority and waterwise garden guru Nan Sterman have teamed up to offer a series of free public webinars designed to help San Diego County residents care for their gardens during a fourth straight year of severe drought.
Starting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 2, Sterman will host periodic webinars during the fall and winter called “How to Drought-Proof Your Garden.” Registration is required and the next webinar is scheduled on Nov. 21.
The events include a short update on drought conditions, followed by survival strategies for landscapes and a question-and-answer session. The presentation focuses on how to use water wisely in landscapes, how to care for plants during drought, and how to create beautiful gardens that require little – if any – irrigation.
In addition, residents can follow Sterman and the Water Authority on social media for information about future webinars, which are scheduled for every few weeks through February, along with tips and resources for WaterSmart living.
“These webinars offer great opportunities for anyone who wants to maintain a beautiful and functional landscape that uses less water,” said Sandra L. Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority. “In addition, we offer numerous resources and rebates to foster low-water lifestyles that will sustain our economy and quality of life for generations.”
About half of water used in homes is typically used outdoors, that makes landscape the biggest opportunity to reduce water use.
Sterman is a garden designer, author, botanist, and award-winning garden communicator who specializes in waterwise, sustainable and edible plants and gardens. She has written several books and numerous articles on gardening and teaches classes on gardening and WaterSmart landscaping. As a California native, she’s attuned to the seasons, soils, plants, and waterwise practices.
“I’m pleased to partner with the Water Authority to help residents learn to save water and money, while creating beautiful, flower-filled gardens that benefit the environment in many different ways,” said Sterman.
San Diegans have reduced their per capita water use by more than 40% over the past three decades, but extreme drought conditions underscore the need to continue to improve water-use efficiency, while maintaining the regional economy and quality of life.
There are many incentives for reducing the amount of water used in landscapes. For instance, homeowners and businesses in San Diego County can receive between $2 and $4 per square foot to remove turf and replace it with low water-use plants suited to the hot and dry conditions that are common in our region. All customers are eligible for the base rebate of $2 per square foot; some agencies offer additional funding, including the City of San Diego and the County of San Diego.
Rebates, classes and incentives available to all residents and businesses in San Diego County are at: www.sdcwa.org/your-water/conservation/.
