Posts

City Approves Framework For Potential Water Transfer Agreement With SMWD

/in , /by /The Capistrano Dispatch (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)by Shawn Raymundo

The city’s plans to annex its utilities department took another step forward Tuesday, Aug. 20, as councilmembers approved a framework that will be the basis for a potential agreement to have Santa Margarita Water District take over water and sewer services in San Juan Capistrano. With Councilmember Derek Reeve absent from the meeting, the council unanimously voted in favor of certifying the Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the major deal points of what will eventually be part of an official annexation agreement and application for approval by the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).

Full Story

Worth One’s Salt: Proposed Doheny Ocean Desalination Project Jumps EIR Hurdle

/in , , , /by /The Capistrano Dispatch (Dana Point, Calif.)by Lillian Boyd

South Coast Water District General Manager Rick Shintaku recalls the California drought from 1987 to 1992 as a pivotal moment in his career in water resources. “Where was I in 1991? I was back in college sharing a house with four other guys. We weren’t flushing our toilets and we weren’t washing our clothes very much,” Shintaku said at a SCWD public hearing for the Doheny Desalination project on June 27. Shintaku reflected on the major changes in the water world and the conservation mandates that rolled out.

Full Story

The Big Dig: Trampas Canyon Reservoir To Serve As South County’s Largest Water Project

/in , , /by /The Capistrano Dispatch (Orange County)by Fred Swegles

On 177 acres situated between San Clemente’s Talega community and Ortega Highway, mountainous earthworks are taking shape. Santa Margarita Water District, which provides water and sewer services to Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto de Caza, Las Flores, Ladera Ranch, Rancho Mission Viejo and Talega, is building a 1.6-billion-gallon reservoir. When completed in 2020, Trampas Canyon Reservoir, less than a half-mile north of Talega, will be able to store recycled wastewater collected from as many as five South Orange County treatment plants.

 

Full Story