Tag Archive for: Sustainability

Pashaun Tillman, a third grade student at La Mesa Dale Elementary School, won Honorable Mention in the K-3 category of the 2020 Helix Water District "Water Is Life" poster contest. Photo: Helix Water District

Helix Water District Student Poster Contest Winners Highlight “Water is Life”

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The Helix Water District honored local student artists within its service area for their winning “Water Is Life” posters at a virtual awards ceremony during the District’s board meeting on October 28.

Each year, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California holds a regional poster contest for students in kindergarten through sixth grade to increase student’s awareness about water.

Helix promotes the contest to all elementary schools within its service area. This year, 174 students from 14 schools submitted posters depicting how to use water wisely.

Helix Water District student poster contest winners (photos: Helix Water District)

Grades K – 3 Category Winners

First Place – Gabriel Espino, Lemon Avenue Elementary, Grade 3. Photo: Helix Water District

First Place – Gabriel Espino, Lemon Avenue Elementary, Grade 3.

 

Second Place – Marvin Sears III, La Mesa Dale Elementary, Grade 3. Photo: Helix Water District

Second Place – Marvin Sears III, La Mesa Dale Elementary, Grade 3.

 

Third Place – Alexander Mollner, St. John of the Cross, Grade 2. Photo: Helix Water District

Third Place – Alexander Mollner, St. John of the Cross, Grade 2.

 

Honorable Mention – Pashaun Tillman, La Mesa Dale Elementary, Grade 3. Photo: Helix Water DistrictThird Place – Alexander Mollner, St. John of the Cross, Grade 2. Photo: Helix Water District

Honorable Mention – Pashaun Tillman, La Mesa Dale Elementary, Grade 3.

 

Honorable Mention – Lily Griffin, Murdock Elementary, Grade 3. Photo: Helix Water District

Honorable Mention – Lily Griffin, Murdock Elementary, Grade 3.

Grades 4 – 6 Category Winners

First Place – Jose Sabedra, Bostonia Language Academy, Grade 4. Photo: Helix Water District

First Place – Jose Sabedra, Bostonia Language Academy, Grade 4.

 

Second Place – Nurah Avellano, St. John of the Cross, Grade 6. Photo: Helix Water District

Second Place – Nurah Avellano, St. John of the Cross, Grade 6.

 

Third Place – Mina Saeed, Lexington Elementary, Grade 4. Photo: Helix Water District

Third Place – Mina Saeed, Lexington Elementary, Grade 4.

 

Honorable Mention – Valeria Ramirez-Quiroz, St. John of the Cross, Grade 5. Photo: Helix Water DIstrict

Honorable Mention – Valeria Ramirez-Quiroz, St. John of the Cross, Grade 5.

 

Honorable Mention – Giselle Villegas Garcia, Lemon Grove Academy, Grade 5. Photo: Helix Water District

Honorable Mention – Giselle Villegas Garcia, Lemon Grove Academy, Grade 5.

The winning posters will be sent to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to compete in the annual 2021 “Water Is Life” calendar competition against entries from other Southern California schools.

Fifth grader Valeria Ramirez-Quiroz of St. John of the Cross was a local 2019 winner as a fourth grader, and her poster was selected for the 2020 Metropolitan Water District “Water is Life”calendar.

Winning posters are also posted for display on the district’s website at www.hwd.com and Facebook page.

Helix Water District provides water treatment and distribution for 277,000 people in the cities of El Cajon, La Mesa and Lemon Grove, the community of Spring Valley and areas of Lakeside — east of downtown San Diego. Helix also provides treated water to neighboring Padre Dam, Otay and Lakeside water districts.

Pure Water San Diego Launches Guided Virtual Tour

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The City of San Diego’s Pure Water Demonstration Facility public tour is now available as a virtual tour. A new video provides an up-close look at the technology behind the water purification plant.  In-person tours are on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and will resume once it is safe to do so. Since opening in June 2011, nearly 19,000 people have toured the one-million-gallon-per-day facility in person.

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Pure Water San Diego Associate Engineer Anthony Van guides a new virtual tour of the demonstration facility. Photo: City of San Diego

Pure Water San Diego Launches Guided Virtual Tour

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The City of San Diego’s Pure Water Demonstration Facility public tour is now available as a virtual tour. A new video provides an up-close look at the technology behind the water purification plant. In-person tours are on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and will resume once it is safe to do so.

Since opening in June 2011, nearly 19,000 people have toured the one-million-gallon-per-day facility in person. Now, the Pure Water Demonstration Facility Virtual Tour takes viewers step-by-step through each of the five treatment processes used to create Pure Water.

Members of the City Pure Water team including wastewater operators, engineers, and water resource specialists explain the equipment and technology. Each is accompanied by graphics and animations showing the inner workings of each barrier. The video also includes drone footage for a bird’s-eye view perspective not previously available to the public.

Take the Pure Water San Diego virtual tour

Phase 1 construction on schedule to begin in early 2021

Construction of Phase 1 of the Pure Water Program is scheduled to begin in early 2021. Phase 1 will include a full-scale, 30-million-gallon-per-day Pure Water Facility that will use the five water purification steps modeled at the Demonstration Facility.

The North City Pure Water Facility will be constructed on a City of San Diego owned parcel east of Interstate 805 and north of Eastgate Mall, across from the existing North City Water Reclamation Plant.

Senior Wastewater Operations Supervisor John Carroll gives viewers a bird's eye view of the facility. Photo: City of San Diego

Senior Wastewater Operations Supervisor John Carroll gives viewers a bird’s eye view of the facility. Photo: City of San Diego

Purified water produced at the completed plant will be delivered to the Miramar Reservoir, blended with the City of San Diego’s imported and local water sources, and treated again at the existing Miramar Drinking Water Treatment Plant. After this process, the water will be distributed to customers. Phase 1 projects are expected to be completed in 2025.

The tour video is available at virtualtour.purewatersd.org More information about the Program can be found at www.purewatersd.org.

California’s Landmark Groundwater Law Falls Short, Advocates Say

/in , , /by /CapRadio by Nina Sparling

In the midst of the last drought, California took its first step to regulate how the state uses groundwater. But advocates worry the new rules have favored big agricultural users over small communities, particularly in areas like the San Joaquin Valley.

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SDG&E Releases Sustainability Strategy with Green-and Justice-Oriented Goals

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

San Diego Gas & Electric released a sustainability strategy Thursday with climate change-conscious goals in the areas of environmental stewardship, clean transportation, grid modernization, community engagement and company operations.

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Solar Project Saves Energy, Costs for Vallecitos Water District

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The Vallecitos Water District is pursuing greater use of renewable resources, increasing capacity to the electrical grid, and reducing long term operational costs with an innovative solar power project.

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City Refinances Loan for Pure Water Project, Saving $293 Million Over 15 Years

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

The City of San Diego announced Thursday it has refinanced a loan with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that city leaders say will save $293 million for taxpayers as the public utilities department begins work on Pure Water San Diego — the largest infrastructure project in the city’s history.

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Struggling for Sustainability on the Colorado River

/in , , /by /Sustainable Watersby Brian Richter

My personal connections to the Colorado River run long and deep.

I grew up in San Diego during a time when virtually all of that city’s water supply came from the Colorado River. Given that two-thirds of the human body mass is comprised of water, I carried some 15 gallons of Colorado River water around in those days, connecting me physically to the river.

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Microsoft’s Latest Environmental Pledge Tackles Water Scarcity

/in , , /by /The Verge (VOX Media)by Justine Calma

Microsoft plans to address dwindling water resources in its latest environmental pledge. Microsoft made a new commitment to replenish even more water than it uses for its global operations by 2030, making the company “water positive.”

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Pure Water Oceanside Recycling Project Gets $69 Million EPA Loan

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The Pure Water Oceanside project is getting a $69 million loan from the U.S. EPA that will finance nearly half of the project’s construction cost.

EPA officials announced the loan at an event today in Oceanside attended by federal, regional and local officials.

The innovative water reuse project will purify recycled water to create a new source of high-quality drinking water that is clean, safe, drought-proof and sustainable. It also will benefit the environment by reducing discharges into the Pacific Ocean. Construction and operation of the plant is expected to create 622 jobs.

Scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022, Pure Water Oceanside will be the first operating advanced water purification facility in San Diego County. The project will provide more than 32% of the City of Oceanside’s water supply, or 3 to 5 million gallons per day.

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