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Opinion: Sweetwater Water Agency Needs More, Not Less, Transparency

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribune

The Sweetwater Authority, a water agency that serves 190,000 people in National City, Bonita and parts of Chula Vista, was last in the news in January when board members voted 6-1 to give themselves ridiculously cheap, heavily subsidized health insurance for their dependents. This is a part-time government body that oversees 100-plus employees earning $176,000 in average salary and benefits that needs far more transparency and accountability. Yet General Manager Tish Berge and board members have taken a step in the opposite direction. They have instituted policies that no longer require that minutes be kept for its two key committees — one that reviews issues related to operations and one that addresses finances and personnel.

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Chevron Spills 800,000 Gallons Of Oil, Water In California

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Don Thompson

Officials began to clean up a massive oil spill Friday that dumped nearly 800,000 gallons of oil and water into a California canyon, making it larger — if less devastating — than the state’s last two major oil spills. The newly revealed spill has been flowing off and on since May and has again stopped, Chevron spokeswoman Veronica Flores-Paniagua said. She and California officials said the spill is not near any waterway and has not significantly affected wildlife. The last flow was Tuesday.

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Changes To Operations Of Sweetwater Authority Raise Some Concerns

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Hernandez

A series of changes related to the operations of the Sweetwater Authority has given rise to concerns that the South Bay water agency’s governing board has ceded too much power to the general manager and diminished transparency. Among the set of revisions to policies that govern the water agency and its governing board: directors are no longer allowed to seek information from staff without the general manager’s knowledge, the Sweetwater Authority is no longer required to keep minutes of meetings when directors on committees convene and the general manager is now allowed to spend up to $75,000 without board approval.

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Helix Pledges Additional $2.5 Million For Padre Dam Reclaimed Water Plan

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

The Helix Water District says it remains committed to the East County Advanced Water Purification Project, a multimillion-dollar, multi-agency recycled water project facilitated by the Padre Dam Municipal Water District in Santee.

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Water Authority Announces Citation Against Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby City News Service

The San Diego County Water Authority announced today that the Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant was cited by the state for a valve malfunction in April.

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Borrego Air Ranch: A Desert Community in Peril

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby J. Harry Jones

The survival of a tiny, unique, desert neighborhood is threatened because more than 60 years ago the community decided to form a small water district instead of digging individual wells.

Borrego Air Ranch is built around a private air strip where residents’ garages double as airplane hangers. It’s located on the southeastern outskirts of unincorporated Borrego Springs, less than a mile from Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

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Parties Reach Consensus on Saltwater Option for Buena Vista Lagoon

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Phil Diehl

Property owners along the Buena Vista Lagoon, which has become more like a shallow, stagnant lake, have agreed after years of negotiations to remove the weir that keeps out the ocean.

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Helix Water District Honors Top Lake Jennings-Inspired Shutterbugs

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

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.

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Sweetwater Authority Set To Create A Citizens Advisory Committee

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Hernandez

A soon-to-be-created citizens advisory committee will provide the Sweetwater Authority governing board with input on issues related to the operations of the South Bay water agency. The goal is for the seven-member governing board to be in a position to “make better, more informed and well-rounded decisions” by allowing ratepayers to be involved in the decision-making, said Steve Castaneda, chair of the board. “It’s something that I think will enhance the process and hopefully make us more responsive to the needs of the folks we serve,” Castaneda said. The board last week instructed staff to draft a policy to govern the composition and work of the committee.

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OPINION: RMWD’s Proposed Rate Increases

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Hurst

Dave Patterson’s letter to the editor in the June 6, 2019, issue of the Ramona Sentinelopens with the claim that “there is something in the water at the (RMWD) ….” Two articles written by Julie Gallant in the same issue provide evidence that “something” is a lack of candor. At the RMWD board meeting on May 14, 2019, Director Tom Ace asked if the $240,000 annual increase in San Vicente Sewer Service Area recycled water revenue was taken into account since the Bartle Wells Associates study originally recommended a 3 percent annual increase in the San Vicente sewer rate. The response was that the annual rate increase had been reduced to 1.5 percent (about $50,000).

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