If you’ve ever driven past pipes sticking out of the ground and wondered, “What is that thing?” you aren’t alone. While sitting at a red light one day, Olivenhain Municipal Water District Customer Services Manager John Carnegie glanced at a pipe and realized there were probably members of the public who are unaware of the role key water infrastructure objects in their neighborhoods play in delivering safe, reliable water.
If you’ve ever driven past pipes sticking out of the ground and wondered, “What is that thing?” you aren’t alone. While sitting at a red light one day, Olivenhain Municipal Water District Customer Services Manager John Carnegie glanced at a pipe and realized there were probably members of the public who are unaware of the role key water infrastructure objects in their neighborhoods play in delivering safe, reliable water.
“OMWD’s #WhatIsThatThing social media campaign is a great way to inform our customers who may be unaware of all the water and wastewater infrastructure around them,” said OMWD Board Secretary Bob Kephart. “It’s a fun way to create a better understanding of the district’s work.”
“It’s easy to forget the long path it takes to get safe and reliable water to your tap,” said OMWD Board President Ed Sprague. “Most people think only as far as their water meter, not to the infrastructure all around them.”
Posts feature a photo and description provided by Olivenhain field service technicians who are out in the district working on service assignments. District spokesman Arman Tarzi says they pass contributions along when they see something the public might want to know more about.
“Our field services staff are happy to contribute ideas and are strong partners in this project,” said Tarzi.
You may be on a walk, see some water flowing from a pipe like this, and ask yourself #WhatIsThatThing? No cause for concern! This is a vault relief doing its job, helping drain water from inside of an underground vault when it fills up due to run off and nuisance water. pic.twitter.com/aLqhyyChOQ
— Olivenhain MWD (@OMWD) August 28, 2020
Tarzi said the images help members of the community understand how infrastructure in their area functions.
“For example, you might see a pipe with water coming out of it, and think its leaking,” he said. “But it may be a vault relief doing its job properly, so the social media campaign can help relieve concerns while providing information in a fun way.”
Tarzi said as the public increasingly engages in outdoor activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, the public may be curious of all the infrastructure around them, which is maintained by OMWD’s essential employees.
“The #WhatIsThatThing creates an appreciation for everything OMWD does to build and maintain our water infrastructure,” said Kephart. “With these posts, we are showing that water infrastructure is everywhere and OMWD is always proactive in maintaining our system.”
#WhatIsThatThing? Inside this tan enclosure is a 2-inch Air Relief Valve that is installed on a distribution water main. The purpose of this valve is to release air pockets that collect at each high point of a fully pressured pipeline. Water infrastructure is all around you! pic.twitter.com/CtwlYxoMe3
— Olivenhain MWD (@OMWD) June 30, 2020
#WhatIsThatThing? Inside this tan enclosure is a 2-inch Air Relief Valve that is installed on the distribution water main. The purpose of this valve is to release air pockets that collect at each high point of a fully pressured pipeline. Water infrastructure is all around you!
Posts in the #WhatIsThatThing social media series began appearing on Olivenhain’s Facebook and Twitter accounts in June. The next posts are scheduled this week.
Hector Gastelum has been censured by the Otay Water District Board of Directors for posting controversial comments on social media. Again.
In 2017, the water district censured Gastelum and removed him from all committees because of a tweet that described Muslim people as “subhuman scum.”
This time, Gastelum’s censure is the consequence of a racist post criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement.
More than 260 photos were submitted during May as part of the “San Diego Grown Photo Contest” highlighting how safe and reliable water supplies fuel the region’s thriving agriculture industry. The San Diego County Water Authority hosted the social media contest during Water Awareness Month.
The contest highlights the significance of agriculture to the regional economy. As one of the nation’s top producers of avocados, ornamental trees and shrubs, flowers, succulents, lemons, and other agricultural products, San Diego County farms cover approximately 250,000 acres and generate $4.8 billion in total annual economic activity.
Photos were posted to Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #B2UbyH2O and came from home gardens, local farms, community gardens and farmers’ markets throughout the region.
Kristina Cornejo submitted this photo on Twitter of a giant Swiss Chard in the San Diego Grown Photo Contest.
One participant on Instagram thanked the Water Authority, posting this comment: “Things like these are what bring Communities together and brings awareness to the importance of water in our lives!”
The San Diego Grown Photo Contest was part of the Water Authority’s ongoing Brought to You by Water outreach and education program, designed to convey the importance of water supply reliability for sustaining the region’s 3.3 million people and its $231 billion economy. The Water Authority and its 24 member agencies work together to meet current and future water demands, while promoting water-use efficiency.
Qualifying submissions received prizes generously donated by local businesses and organizations including Specialty Produce, the San Diego County Farm Bureau, and Jimbo’s … Naturally.
Over the past year, the Water Authority has highlighted an array of the region’s core industries – including tourism, manufacturing and brewing – that would not exist without substantial investments in water supply reliability by the Water Authority and its 24 member agencies.
Those industries provide tens of thousands of jobs that help make San Diego County universally regarded as one of the best places to live. The regional economy is made possible, in part, by continued investments in the pumps, pipes, projects and people who deliver more than 450,000 acre-feet of water per year for everything from washing hotel towels and growing avocados to brewing craft beer and building ships.
That's a wrap! Thank you to everyone who participated in the San Diego Grown Photo Contest and for supporting San Diego's local agriculture industry! Here's a look at some of our favorite photos. #B2UbyH2O ? ? ? pic.twitter.com/1L9Xgby40H
— San Diego County Water Authority (@sdcwa) June 3, 2019
Follow #B2UbyH2O on Instagram and Twitter to see all the photos.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
