People are reaching out to CBS 8 with questions about Lake Miramar and why the water level is so low. CBS 8 is Working For You to find out what is causing the drop.
“I noticed a couple weeks ago when I was here walking around the lake that the water level had gone really low when I was wondering, ‘What’s going on?’ I was confused as to why that was happening,” Robert Ross told CBS 8 Friday.
A wide-ranging bill at the State Capitol aimed at boosting renewable energy sources includes a provision that could help develop a proposed pumped hydroelectric facility at the San Vicente Reservoir near Lakeside.
Assembly Bill 1373 aims to make the state a centralized buyer for renewable energy sources such as offshore wind power and geothermal facilities. And in a late addition to the bill, it allows the state’s Department of Water Resources to procure funding for a pumped hydro project that “does not exceed 500 megawatts and has been directly appropriated funding by the state before January 1, 2023.”
The Union-Tribune received confirmation from legislative sources that the provision specifically refers to the San Vicente project.
With phase one of San Diego’s Pure Water sewage recycling system nearly half built, city officials are making major adjustments to plans for constructing the rest of the system in order to avoid delays and potentially shrink overall costs.
To cope with severe flooding at the Morena Boulevard pump station that threatens to delay the start of operations by more than a year, city officials now plan to temporarily recycle only 40 percent as much sewage so they can start on time in mid-2025.
The San Diego County Water Authority wants to keep the lights on, even when the Sun goes down. It plans to use San Vicente Reservoir to store solar power energy in so-called water batteries to maximize the city’s renewable energy potential, NPR reports.
Cities across California have an abundance of sunny days, which is perfect for providing renewable energy… as long as the Sun is up. The proposed project could store 4,000 megawatt-hours of energy per day, which could power 135,000 homes after the Sun goes down. To make this possible, the San Diego Water Authority would create a smaller upper reservoir just above the existing San Vicente Reservoir. These would be connected by a tunnel system and an underground powerhouse.
The leader of a conservation group opposes the idea of building this facility since it could be built on two preserves. Friday, the San Diego County Water Authority explained why it’s beneficial for California.
Neena Kuzmich from the San Diego County Water Authority says the proposed hydro energy storage facility at the San Vicente Reservoir will not only generate power for thousands of households, it will help California meet its energy goals.
“The state has an aggressive renewable state goal with 100% by 2045. With clean energy, this project will help in meeting these goals. It will use renewable energy during the day for later use and it does not emit greenhouse gases,” said Kuzmich.
The City of San Diego and the San Diego County Water Authority are planning to develop the San Vicente Energy Storage Facility Project.
The proposed hydro energy storage facility at the San Vicente Reservoir could generate enough energy for about 135,000 households.
How it works is the project would create a small upper reservoir above the existing, city-owned San Vicente reservoir. They’d be connected by a tunnel system and an underground powerhouse.
The San Diego County Water Authority and city of San Diego have decided to move forward with environmental review of a pumped-storage electricity generating plant at the San Vicente Reservoir in East County.
The project entails creating a new, smaller reservoir above the giant city-owned lake, a tunnel between the two, and underground pump turbines. Water would be pumped to the upper reservoir when there is excess power on the grid, then drawn down to generate electricity when needed.
Just days after the California Energy Commission announced the first application in the state for storage using compressed air, another long-term storage proposal advanced: a 500 MW project that would use pumped storage at the San Vicente Reservoir in eastern San Diego County.
The City of San Diego and the San Diego Water Authority board have begun negotiations with BHE Kiewit, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, on the financing and building terms for the estimated $1.5 billion pumped storage facility. The city and the water agency also approved two contracts totaling $6.2 million for an environmental impact analysis and for preparation of an interconnection agreement with the grid operator plus a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, all on Jan. 27.
Recent news stories highlighted the investments by the San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies to create a plentiful water supply for the region, helping to weather dry times like the current drought.
The New York Times, Spectrum News 1, The Wall Street Journal and Wired Magazine are among several news organizations that have reported on the region’s water supply projects, current and future, that ensure the 3.3 million residents of the county won’t be left high and dry during times of drought.
