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Poway Water Crisis Turning Into Political Football

/in , /by /KPBSby Matt Hoffman

The water in Poway is safe to drink — this after stormwater contaminated the city’s water supply forcing people to turn off their taps for a week. But now a political battle is brewing. “As elected officials, we need to step up and hold our colleagues accountable,” said Lakeside Water District Board Member Frank Hilliker. “The mishandling of the Poway contamination incident eroded the confidence of the public of all our water boards”. Board members from the Lakeside and Otay Water Districts laid the blame on Poway Mayor Steve Vaus during a news conference Tuesday.

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Polluted Stormwater is Fouling L.A. Beaches. Little Has Been Done About It, Report Finds

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Colleen Shalby

California’s storms do plenty of good, including replenishing the state’s water supply by filling its reservoirs and dampening the risk of wildfires. But the rainwater runoff also carries heavy pollutants that wash directly onto the shore, creating a toxic mix that’s unsafe for beachgoers. Anyone who’s visited a beach after it rains has encountered such stormwater pollution, the unfiltered trash that piles onto the sand after flowing from rooftops, sidewalks and streets, picking up a trail of pesticides, bacteria, oil and grease before traveling through the storm drains.

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Sewage Flows From Tijuana Completely Shutter Imperial Beach Shoreline

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

A beach closure that has been in place for months for the southern part of the Imperial Beach was extended Sunday to include the city’s entire shoreline. The San Diego County Department of Environment Health issued the order to close the coastline to swimmers as a result of sewage-contaminated runoff in the Tijuana River. Signs warning residents of the contamination will be in place until testing indicates the water is safe for recreational use.

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The first rain after a dry period is called the "first flush." It can wash pollutants off hard surfaces. A better alternative is to filter the first flush through your landscaping. Photo: Skyloader.Creative Commons

Capturing the First Flush of Rainwater

/in , /by

The most important water to capture in your landscape is the first inch of rainfall after a dry spell. This is called the “first flush.”  

Rainfall in dry climates like the San Diego region is often a “first flush” repeatedly due to long stretches between rainy periods. 

The first rainfall washes away pollutants that have gathered on hard surfaces since the last rain. It needs to be filtered as much as possible by landscaping before it goes anywhere else, especially into storm drains that empty into the oceans. 

How much water comes off your roof? 

The shape of your roof doesn’t make any difference. The same amount of water falls on the roof whether sloped or flat. Measure a sloped roof either using an aerial view or from the ground without worrying about the slope itself. Just measure the outside edges the same way you would if it was flat, and calculate the square footage. 

Flat roofs covering a building in one contiguous shape are easier to measure. Some roofs are more complicated. Divide this type of roof into individual squares or triangles. Measure each one at a time, then add the figures together for your total roof area.  

Calculate your potential water capture  

Once you know the total roof area, you can determine the amount of rainfall it generates in gallons, then use the following formula to convert square feet to gallons.  

Formula: Rainfall in Inches x Total Square Feet x 0.62 = Gallons of Rainwater From the Roof 

Example using a 1,000 square foot roof: 1 inch of rain x 1000 x 0.62 = 620 gallons. 

San Diego’s rainfall total for “water year” 2018 was about 3.3 inches. Imagine this amount falling on a 1,000 square-foot roof. The total amount of water runoff during this water year would be 3.3 X 1000 X 0.62 = 2,046 gallons.  

Even in our dry climate, this rainfall adds up to a lot of water runoff. It’s easy to see how important it is to save as much of this water as possible in a landscape designed to be a sponge instead of a brick.  

 

This article was inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org. 

 

 

 

San Diego Reaches Agreement With Nonprofits To Improve Stormwater Infrastructure

/in , /by /10 News

The city of San Diego has reached an agreement with two local nonprofit organizations to improve its stormwater infrastructure and local water quality, it was announced today. Under the agreement, the city pledged to improve its stormwater management sites at the Miramar Landfill, Metro Biosolids Center, North City Reclamation Plant, Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant and South Bay Water Reclamation Plant. San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation will concurrently contribute $35,000 to the San Diego Audubon Society to be used for water quality improvement and habitat conservation in Mission Bay.

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LA County to Vote on Tax for Stormwater Projects

/in , /by /NBC 4 (Los Angeles)

Los Angeles County voters will decide Tuesday on a proposed parcel tax that would bankroll projects aimed at capturing, cleaning and conserving stormwater to prevent it from running downstream and polluting rivers and beaches. Measure W, dubbed the Safe Clean Water Program, is expected to raise $300 million annually. It needs the backing of two-thirds of voters to be approved. “Every year a full 100 billion gallons of water runs down our curbs and out into the ocean,” picking up trash and toxins along the way, Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said in July when the Board of Supervisors voted to place the item on the ballot.

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Can L.A. County stormwater Tax Clear The Two-Thirds Bar For Passage?

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Nina Agrawal

It was a week after L.A.’s first major rain of the season, and hundreds of volunteers had gathered to pick up trash along the beach at a monthly cleanup organized by Heal the Bay. Ying, a volunteer herself, was giving them instructions — and helping make the case for a countywide measure on the Nov. 6 ballot that would raise money from property taxes to fund stormwater capture and cleanup.

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District Poised to Capture More Stormwater Thanks to Army Corps of Engineers

/in , /by /California Water News Daily

Historically the Orange County Water District (OCWD) has had to rely on Mother Nature for water. Although, due to climate change, that is no longer a realistic water strategy for OCWD. The agency has instead made significant investments in cutting-edge technology, such as water reuse, to help the region weather droughts. However, not taking advantage when large rain events take place is not something OCWD wants to miss out on and has found a way to capture more stormwater without having to spend tens of millions of dollars in new infrastructure.

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LA County Voters To Decide On New Stormwater Tax In November

/in , /by /89.3 KPCC (Pasadena)by Sharon McNary

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to place the measure on the Nov. 6 ballot. If two-thirds of voters in the Los Angeles County Flood Control District agree, property owners would be charged a new tax of 2.5 cents for every square foot of land shedding water. That includes roofs, patios, driveways and other hard surfaces.

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How Communities Are Turning Stormwater From A Liability To An Asset

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Tara Lohan

 Stormwater used to be viewed as a liability – it was shuttled into storm drains as fast as possible to prevent flooding – and then dumped into the ocean, rivers or streams. But increasingly, stormwater is now being viewed as an asset – a way to help augment water supplies and adapt to a changing climate. A new report on stormwater capture issued by the Pacific Institute – the Oakland, California-based water think tank – looks at regulatory and funding challenges as well as creative solutions and collaborations.

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