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Record Rain In Vegas, Half-Foot Of Snow In Tahoe Mountains

Emergency Crews rescued two people from a wash flowing with runoff from record rain in Las Vegas, and up a to half-foot of Sierra snow (15 centimeters) triggered chain controls around Lake Tahoe as a cold front moved across Nevada on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service also issued a winter weather advisory through 4 p.m. Thursday for much of central Nevada, where as much as 6 inches (15 cm) is possible in mountain areas.

The service said 0.35 inch of rain (9 millimeters) fell in Las Vegas through 8 a.m. Wednesday, breaking the old record for the date set in 1963.

Joint Powers Authority Formed To Oversee East County Water Purification Project

A government oversight group has been formed to help four local entities keep Padre Dam Municipal Water District’s recycled water treatment plans flowing smoothly.

Earlier this month, representatives from Padre Dam, the city of El Cajon and the County of San Diego took part in the initial formation meeting of the East County Advanced Water Purification Joint Powers Authority. The JPA will serve as the governing body for the recycled water project.

California Says San Diego County Could Undermine State’s Landmark Plan to Rein In Greenhouse Gases

The stakes are rising in a legal battle over whether San Diego County will be able to approve thousands of new housing units in wildfire-prone areas far from urban job centers using carbon offsets.

The Sierra Club spearheaded the legal challenge last year with support from a host of environmental groups, such as the Center of Biological Diversity, as well as the San Diego-based Climate Action Campaign and Cleveland National Forest Foundation.

While county governments across the state came out early this month in support of San Diego County’s offset plan, Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office simultaneously blasted the idea — saying it could undercut California’s internationally lauded strategy to reduce planet-warming emissions.

24,000 Pounds Of Trash Removed From San Diego River

More than 100 volunteers removed over 24,000 pounds of trash from the San Diego River on Oct. 26, the second largest watershed management area in San Diego County.

The cleanup came from a comprehensive survey of the lower 20.5 miles of the San Diego River to document trash locations. Over 180 trash sites were identified and mapped in the seven-mile section that volunteers cleaned, which stretches from Dog Beach to Mission Valley.

The San Diego River Park Foundation, who organized the cleanup, said the trash along the river is largely the result of homeless encampments, followed by stormwater debris. San Diego doesn’t treat stormwater, which leads to more pollution.

San Diego Creates State’s First Water, Sewer ‘Capacity Bank’ To Boost Biotech, Breweries

San Diego will create California’s first “capacity bank” for water and sewer, allowing breweries and biotech firms to cheaply buy excess water and sewer capacity from former factories.

The City Council unanimously approved the capacity bank on Tuesday, calling it an innovative idea that will create jobs and help the city avoid expensive expansions of its sewer and water infrastructure.

“From conversations I’ve had with a lot of breweries in my district, this is going to be a very popular program,” said Councilman Chris Cate, who represents Miramar, Mira Mesa and Kearny Mesa.

Padre Dam Water District Set To Raise Rates – Twice

Residents and businesses in Santee and Alpine who are under the auspices of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District will see two rate increases in the coming months.

The rate increases are scheduled for November and January.

In 2017, the district’s Board of Directors approved a comprehensive cost-of-service study, then approved a five-year plan and budget that showed rate hikes scheduled yearly through 2021-22. The district had frozen rates last year for the 2019-20 fiscal year.

For an average Padre Dam water customer in a single-family house in the western part of the district, such as Santee, bills are expected to go up by nearly $3.50 per month, to $115.75 starting on Nov. 1.

Carlsbad Plans Aggressive Treatment Of Invasive Weed

Carlsbad is preparing to launch an “aggressive” effort, including the widespread application of a chemical herbicide, to eradicate the invasive plant Ward’s weed from about 200 acres where it has taken root in several of the city’s habitat preserves.

A native of the Mediterranean region, the species’ first North American appearance was in Carlsbad’s Rancho La Costa Preserve in 2008. Since then, the plant has spread to the undeveloped habitat management areas east of El Camino Real between Palomar Airport Road and Alga Road.

Report: San Diego Has Unique Edge To Tackle Climate Change

The Earth’s coastal and polar areas are on thin ice, a new climate report warns, but San Diego may be in a better place than others to weather those changes if it acts swiftly, several authors said.

“The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate,” released last week by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, explored the effects of warming on the world’s oceans and frozen places.

Rainfall Contest Winner’s Prediction Was Good To The Last Drop

As September and the rainfall year wound down, Michael Candra needed a perfect storm — a perfectly light, minor storm.

Early Saturday morning, San Diego’s season total stood at 12.83 inches. At that point, Candra was in fifth place in the Union-Tribune’s 17th annual Precipitation Prediction Contest, which drew more than 500 entrants. Each year, we ask the locals to predict how much rain San Diego will receive from the start of the water year Oct. 1 to the end on Sept. 30.

Candra, 41, had predicted of 12.89 inches. Two people had predicted 12.85, one had 12.86 and another 12.87.

Here’s How Much Rain Fell Across San Diego County Before Dawn On Thursday

Here are local rainfall totals for the 24-hour period ending at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday. The National Weather Service says that isolated rain and thunderstorms could occur today in the mountains and deserts.

Forecasters also report that there were 17 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in the county late Wednesday and early Thursday, and 30 lightning flashes. Virtually all of the activity occurred in the mountains and deserts.

A cooling trend will continue throughout San Diego County and last into the weekend. Thursday’s high in San Diego will be 73. The high on Sunday will be 68, about seven degrees below average.