Months after Governor Gavin Newsom asked Californians to voluntarily cut back on their water use during this severe drought, much of the state is missing the mark.
While the initial data is limited, the Southern California region has so far managed to cut its water consumption by just a tenth of a percent.
Despite an appeal by Gov. Gavin Newsom for all Californians to voluntarily cut water use by 15%, Southern California has lagged in conservation efforts and even increased water consumption slightly in Los Angeles and San Diego, according to newly released data.
More than two months after Newsom stood by a depleted reservoir in San Luis Obispo County to make his plea, figures released Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board show that conservation efforts have varied widely from north to south.
In the first test of their willingness to cut back on water use during the drought, Californians reduced residential consumption by just 1.8% in July compared to a year earlier — well short of what Gov. Gavin Newsom has been seeking.
The statistics released Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board suggest Californians haven’t been enthusiastically embracing Newsom’s appeal for 15% reductions, at least in the early going.
Sewer rates for San Diegans in single-family homes would increase nearly 17 percent next year and a total of 31 percent over the next four years under a rate hike proposal the City Council is scheduled to consider Tuesday.
The proposal also would reduce sewer rates for most businesses, condos and apartments based on two comprehensive studies showing those customers have been paying too much, while single-family homes haven’t been paying enough.
Even as she was going blind, my mom, ever the poet, delighted in sitting out among the palms and birds, and enjoying and visualizing the scene, as I irrigated my date gardens in the Coachella Valley.
In her 1997 poem, “Colorado Water,” she wrote:
The palm said, “My clover is cool around my bole, over my hidden roots.
My fronds clatter, crash
like waves in the far off sea.”
John Carroll, the City of San Diego’s Pure Water Treatment Plant superintendent, received the 2021 Robert O. Vernon Membrane Plant Operator of the Year Award from the American Membrane Technology Association and the American Water Works Association.
This award recognizes outstanding contributions to water supply improvement by an individual working at a membrane filtration, desalination, and/or water reuse facility. Carroll was selected in recognition of his service and dedication to membrane operations and for his leadership within the industry.
“My selection would not have been possible without the support of many dedicated and talented individuals, the fellow coworkers, consultants, and volunteers to whom I owe all my success,” said Carroll.
San Diego formally launched Friday the largest infrastructure project in city history, a sewage recycling system that will boost local water independence in the face of more severe droughts caused by climate change.
Dubbed “Pure Water,” the multibillion-dollar project is the culmination of a lengthy process featuring thorny lawsuits, complex labor deals and an aggressive public education campaign to fight the derogatory early nickname “toilet to tap.”
San Diegans will have many opportunities to ask questions and provide feedback regarding proposed water and wastewater rate increases.
This week, all city water and wastewater customers will receive a Proposition 218 notice in the mail offering information about the proposed rate increases and an upcoming public hearing on Sept. 21. The notice is available in multiple languages online.
San Diego has long been blessed with its weather.
But this summer, it’s ridiculous — as in ridiculously good compared with the extreme weather exacerbated by climate change that’s wreaking havoc elsewhere.
Across oceans or up the coast, it seems various regions of the world are either burning or drowning.
But here, this summer has been, well, very San Diego. Sure, there have been hot spells and even some record temperatures, but really nothing much out of the ordinary.
Sewer rates for San Diegans in single-family homes would increase nearly 17 percent next year and a total of 31 percent over the next four years under a revised rate hike proposal scheduled for a Sept. 21 City Council vote.
The proposal would reduce sewer rates for most businesses, condos and apartments based on two comprehensive studies showing those customers have been paying too much, while single-family homes haven’t been paying enough.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
