Tag Archive for: San Diego

San Diego’s Sutherland Reservoir in Ramona Reopening to Public on Friday

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewen

The city of San Diego’s Sutherland Reservoir will reopen for boating, fishing, hiking and picnicking three days each week beginning on Friday.

The reservoir, located 45 miles northeast of San Diego, will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from sunrise to sunset, and on the Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day holidays. It’s closed the third Friday of each month.

The recreation area has barbecues, picnic tables and restrooms. Dogs are allowed on leashes. Water activities including boating, canoeing, kayaking, sailboarding and float tubing are allowed on Saturdays and Sundays.

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City Opens State-of-the-Art Ranger Station in Mission Trails Regional Park

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

City Opens State-of-the-Art Ranger Station in Mission Trails Regional Park.

The state-of-the-art facility, at the East Fortuna Staging Area of the park, will give rangers improved resources and allow them to better protect the park and engage with visitors, according to Sherman’s office.

Sherman, chairman of the Mission Trails Regional Park Taskforce, said the park and making it accessible was important to him.

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City Reports Significantly Fewer Water and Sewer Spills in Past Year

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

San Diego is experiencing considerably fewer breaks in water mains and sewer lines thanks to continuing replacement of deteriorating cast iron pipes, according to a year-end report released Wednesday.

A total of 38 water main breaks were reported in the city in 2019, a 38% reduction from the previous year. It was the lowest total in 15 years and far less than the peak of 131 breaks in 2010.

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With Signing of USMCA, Help is on the Way for Tijuana Sewage

/in , /by /ABC 10by Derek Staahl

President Donald Trump signed the renegotiated trade agreement with Mexico and Canada Monday that will replace NAFTA.

The bipartisan deal includes $300 million to help address the frequent sewage spills in Tijuana that contaminate beaches in San Diego’s South Bay.

“It’s a huge win for San Diego and it’s a huge win for our cross-border region,” said San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who attended the signing ceremony outside the White House.

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State Sen. Toni Atkins receives CMUA Safe Drinking Water Champion Award January 27, 2020 in Sacramento

Atkins Receives Safe Drinking Water Champion Award

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California State Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins of San Diego on Monday received the 2019 Safe Drinking Water Champion Award from the California Municipal Utilities Association in Sacramento.

“The award recognizes Senator Atkins’ leadership to work collaboratively with her colleagues in the Senate, Assembly and Governor’s office in securing funding for communities that do not have access to safe drinking water,” said Danielle Blacet-Hyden, CMUA director for water, as she presented Senator Atkins with the award.

Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund of 2019

In her role as leader of the Senate, Atkins was instrumental in bringing California together to find consensus and common ground that resulted in passage of the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund of 2019. This long-term funding solution – a total of $1.3 billion over the next 10 years – will help ensure safe drinking water for the estimated 1 million Californians who currently lack it, and also fix failing water systems in vulnerable communities. 

“Lack of clean water is something that seems almost unimaginable in 21st century California – yet there still are communities that do not have pure, wholesome, and potable water to drink, bathe, and use in their daily lives,” said Atkins during the award presentation. “Last year we passed a law that includes an ongoing source of funding to provide safe and affordable drinking water to communities suffering from contaminated supplies, without any new taxes or charges on working Californians or on our farming industry.”

Safe water without a drinking water tax

Atkins worked to secure safe water without adding a water tax. Water industry groups, including the San Diego County Water Authority, were among the broad coalition of water, business and civic interests that opposed the tax.

“Her leadership was vital to securing the funding needed to provide safe drinking water for the communities in California where unhealthy water is a problem,” said Glenn Farrel, director of government relations for the Water Authority.

Representing San Diego, Atkins was elected to the Assembly in 2010 and became Assembly Speaker in 2014. After one year in the Senate, in March 2018 she was sworn in as Senate President pro Tempore, becoming the first woman to lead the Legislature’s upper house.

The CMUA represents its members’ interests on energy and water issues before the California Legislature, the Governor’s Office and regulatory bodies, such as the California Energy Commission, the California Air Resources Board, the Department of Water Resources, the California Independent System Operator, and the State Water Resources Control Board. It was initially formed in 1932 to represent California’s community-owned electric utilities.

San Diego’s Winter Dry Spell to Last Until at Least Thursday

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

After a wet start to the rainy season, San Diego is in the midst of a dry spell that will last until at least Thursday and possibly a lot longer, says the National Weather Service.

Cool air is flowing into the region from the northwest, keeping temperatures slightly below average. Forecasters say San Diego’s daytime high will be in the 63 to 64 degree range for most of the week.

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2019 Started and Ended Wet in San Diego; Heat Was Less Persistent

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Robert Krier

Last year came in and went out like a wet lion in San Diego County. In between, it was a relatively tranquil, although not uneventful weather year.

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Here’s How Much Rain Fell in 50 San Diego Cities and Towns During the Two-Day Storm

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

Here’s how much rain fell on Monday and early Tuesday at more than 50 locations across San Diego County. A new round of rain will move ashore on Christmas night and will last into Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

San Onofre: 1.85″
Brown Field: 1.74″
Otay Mountain: 1.70″
Lake Cuyamaca: 1.66″
Kearny Mesa: 1.38″
Point Loma: 1.36″

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San Diego Got More Rain Than Seattle in November

/in , , /by /FOX 5 San Diegoby Matt Meyer

Normally sunny San Diego got more rain than Seattle last month, a reverse of what residents of both West Coast cities have to come to expect.

The National Weather Service recorded just under 3 inches of rain with their monitoring station at Lindbergh Field this November, making it the wettest November on record for San Diego.

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RE:BORDER 2019 Jim Madaffer - The Water We Share

Cross-Border Water Issues Need Cross-Border Solutions

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Regional collaboration and partnerships are needed to solve cross-border water issues, according to San Diego County Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer.

“The Water Authority is exploring innovative solutions to increase water supply reliability for the San Diego region, but also Baja California and the Southwest,” said Madaffer during today’s opening ceremony of RE:BORDER 2019 at San Diego State University. “Those solutions include the possibility of a transborder water connection that can help both Mexico and the United States.”

Madaffer’s special presentation, “Stewarding a Shared Resource for the Bi-National Region,” was part of the two-day RE:BORDER 2019 conference. It continues Tuesday at the Universidad Autónoma De Baja California in Tijuana.

‘The Water We Share’

The theme for the inaugural binational conference is “The Water We Share.” The goal is to forge regional solutions for transborder water issues by breaking down academic, political, and administrative boundaries.

Tijuana River Watershed - RE:BORDER 2019 - San Diego

The Tijuana River Watershed covers 1,750 square miles – three-fourths lies in Mexico and includes the cities of Tijuana and Tecate. Graphic: USFWS/Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve

In his opening remarks, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, was optimistic about solving Tijuana sewage issues, such as polluted runoff flowing into the Tijuana River causing beach closures in Imperial Beach and Coronado.

Momentum increasing for cross-border solutions

“I’ve never seen more momentum than I have in the past six months to solve this cross-border sewage issue,” said Faulconer. “It is a true international issue that we can solve.”

State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel at RE:BORDER 2019 - WNN

State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel delivered the keynote address at the binational conference “RE:BORDER 2019 at San Diego State University on November 25. Photo: Water Authority

‘Borders are arbitrary, but we are connected’

California State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel delivered the keynote address.

“The borders are arbitrary, but we are completely connected,” Esquivel told a crowd of about 200 people in Montezuma Hall. “Infrastructure investments are needed on both sides of the border, and we know with climate change, the entire watershed will be an entirely different place in the future.”

Day 2 sessions in Tijuana will examine how the transborder region will be affected by climate change – including greater risks of floods, landslides and wildfires – how reduced water for agriculture could impact the region, and on-going concerns about uneven access to water resources.

RE:BORDER is a new initiative from San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre that each year will examine a significant issue.  The RE:Border 2020 conference is scheduled for November 12 and 13.