The San Diego County Water Authority board recently approved a permanent, special agricultural water rate structure that offers lower rates to farmers in exchange for lower water supply reliability.
Unlike the current, temporary program, the new program will let new participants join as a way to strengthen the region’s multi-billion-dollar agriculture industry.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s board of directors adopted a $1.7 billion budget for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, representing a 5 percent increase from the prior two-year budget.
The Water Authority attributed the need for a more expensive budget due to increasing costs for water supply, supply reliability and infrastructure improvements.
The San Diego County Water Authority hired the executive search firm William Avery & Associates to manage the recruitment of its next general manager, following the retirement of long-time head Maureen Stapleton. After a competitive selection process, a work group comprised of the Water Authority’s board of directors chose the Los Gatos-based firm to fill the position that was vacated last March.
With more than 800 miles of coastline and a great big ocean out there, California shouldn’t be always be scrambling for water as if it were in the middle of the Sahara Desert. But politics tend to make goods scarce rather than plentiful. But sometimes there’s good news. Such as a recent report that the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board has issued a permit allowing a permanent seawater intake to be built at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Desalination Plant in Carlsbad. Once fully operable in 2023, the new intake system will supplement the 50 million gallons of “drought-proof” potable water the plant currently pumps out daily, most of it drawn from the Agua Hedionda Lagoon located next to the facility.
The San Diego County Water Authority annually delivers about 130 billion gallons of water to its member agencies, which in turn pump the water to ratepayers throughout the region. The movement of that much water and the millions of dollars that propel it brings with it certain legal implications. To handle its sometimes slippery legal matters, the independent agency calls on Mark J. Hattam, an attorney whose career started on a different track.
Maureen A. Stapleton recently retired as general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority after 23 years in the position. Sandy Kerl, the agency’s deputy general manager, will serve as acting general manager while the Water Authority’s board of directors conducts a search for its next general manager. During Stapleton’s tenure leading the region’s water wholesale agency, she led a successful, multi-decade strategy to diversify and improve the reliability of San Diego County’s water supply, which now supports a $220 billion economy and the quality of life of 3.3 million people.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) recently awarded $500,000 in grant funding to three San Diego projects designed to advance the development of a locally controlled, reliable water supply. The San Diego County Water Authority submitted the region’s proposal in partnership with the city of San Diego, Padre Dam Municipal Water District and Olivenhain Municipal Water District. In August, MWD offered $3.5 million in Future Supply Action Program grants, with a $500,000 cap for each of its member agencies. The San Diego region proposal garnered the maximum amount of funding.
The Otay Water District recently began using drones to assist district personnel with water-facility inspections. The district, which distributes water to more than 225,000 customers in southeastern San Diego County, is using the drones primarily to survey its reservoirs, pump stations and a recycled water treatment plant, according to a news release. “The District’s use of drone technology is a reflection of its continued process improvement philosophy to conduct efficient maintenance operations, improve the safety of its workers, and ultimately deliver greater value to its customers,” the release stated.
San Diego’s plan to use recycled wastewater to provide one-third of the city’s water supply by 2035 was given the green light earlier this month by city council, which voted to authorize Mayor Kevin Faulconer to begin awarding construction contracts for the first phase of the project. Phase one of Pure Water San Diego will cost roughly $1.4 billion and involve the construction of a water purification facility near the North City Water Reclamation Plant, located just east of interstate 805 near Miramar Road.
During the past 60 years, Vista-based L.H. Woods & Sons, Inc. has executed dozens of contracts for upgrades to the pipelines that convey water throughout San Diego County. The family-owned company was recently honored by the San Diego County Water Authority, following the completion of a $28 million pipe-relining project, which was Woods’ final project for the agency.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
