Tag Archive for: Water Conservation

Conservatives Get DOE Win After ‘Underwear’ Campaign

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Lesley Clark

A 2007 campaign that urged homeowners unhappy with their washing machines to “send your underwear to the Under Secretary” may yet notch a win under the Trump administration.

The Department of Energy published a proposed rule this week that would create a product class to allow for speedier washing machines and dryers.

Environmental and consumer groups charged that the move would lead to washers and dryers that waste water and energy and increase utility bills and carbon emissions.

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Rebates for WaterSmart Irrigation Devices

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Rebates for WaterSmart irrigation devices are available in San Diego County to help property owners reduce expenses by improving water efficiency.

The rebates, offered for a limited time by the San Diego County Water Authority, provide significant savings on devices for outdoor landscapes.

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Energy Department Proposes Showerhead Standards Rollback After Trump Complains

/in , , /by /The Hillby Rebecca Beitsch

The Trump administration is moving to loosen environmental standards for showerheads following a string of public complaints from the president about low-flow fixtures designed to save water.

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Rebates for WaterSmart Irrigation Devices

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Rebates for WaterSmart irrigation devices are available in San Diego County to help property owners reduce expenses by improving water efficiency.

The rebates, offered for a limited time by the San Diego County Water Authority, provide significant savings on devices for outdoor landscapes.

The WaterSmart Contractor Incentive Program, or WSCIP, helps commercial, public and agricultural property owners improve water-use efficiency in large landscapes through rebates for irrigation hardware upgrades. School districts, universities, and other organizations are also eligible.

“This incentive program is designed to be business-friendly as part of the Water Authority’s focus on long-term water-use efficiency,” said Efren Lopez, a water resources specialist with the Water Authority, who manages the program.

Innovative irrigation devices

The rebate program started a few months before the coronavirus pandemic, and recently was extended to ensure that property owners and landscape contractors have a full opportunity to take advantage of the savings. Rebates are available on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified landscape contractors and property owners at self-managed sites in San Diego County.

Project sites must include at least one acre of irrigated landscape to qualify.

The program offers a range of innovative irrigation devices. Bundling these four items leads to the greatest water efficiency.

Rebates are offered for the following devices:

  • Smart Irrigation Controllers            $35 per station
  • High Efficiency Sprinkler Nozzles   $6 per nozzle
  • Flow Sensors                                      $60 per sensor
  • Drip Irrigation                                    $0.20 per square foot

 

WSCIP - San Diego County Water Authority

The WaterSmart Contractor Incentive Program is a large landscape and technology-focused program, which targets qualified landscape contractors and self-managed sites.

Paperless enrollment

Enrollment is a paperless process. To participate, create an account to enroll and verify your qualifications. To enroll, or for more information, go to: https://www.sdwatersmartcip.com/ or call (888) 521-9763.

There is also a list of contractors enrolled in the program that can work with property owners who want to install eligible irrigation efficiency devices: https://www.sdwatersmartcip.com/enrolled-contractors

New Study says Forecasters are Overestimating Future Demand for Water

/in , , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby Alison St. John

Californians have grown used to the idea that water is a precious commodity, one that we risk running out of without conservation.

A new report by the Pacific Institute suggests Californians have learned to conserve so well that water forecasters need to rethink their approach to estimating future water demand.

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Oceanside Competes in Nationwide Water Conservation Contest

/in , /by /The San Diego Union Tribuneby Linda McIntosh

Oceanside Mayor Peter Weiss is among mayors across the country who are urging their communities to use water wisely and join Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.

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Agoura Hills Mayor Encourages Residents To Take ‘Water Pledge’

/in , , /by /Patch (Agoura Hills)by Nikki Gaskins

Each year, the Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation hosts the My Water Pledge, a friendly competition between cities across the U.S. to see who can be the most “water-wise.”

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Vista Irrigation District Names 2020 Student Poster Contest Winners

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Vista Irrigation District has presented awards to three artistic fourth-grade students as winners of the District’s 2020 Water Awareness Poster Contest. The District’s board of directors selected the recipients at its July 15 meeting. This is the 28th year of the local contest. This year’s theme was “Love Water, Save Water.”

Karmen Isabel Simons, a fourth-grade student from St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Vista, received first-place honors for her entry in the competition. She received a $100 award

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Karmen Isabel Simons, a fourth grade student from St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Vista, received first place honors from the District for her entry in the competition. She received a $100 award. Photo: Vista Irrigation District 2020 Student Poster Contest

Vista Irrigation District Names 2020 Student Poster Contest Winners

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Vista Irrigation District has presented awards to three artistic fourth-grade students as winners of the District’s 2020 Water Awareness Poster Contest. The District’s board of directors selected the recipients at its July 15 meeting. This is the 28th year of the local contest. This year’s theme was “Love Water, Save Water.”

Karmen Isabel Simons, a fourth-grade student from St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Vista, received first-place honors for her entry in the competition. She received a $100 award.

Karmen Isabel Simons, a fourth grade student from St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Vista, received first place honors from the District for her entry in the competition. She received a $100 award. Photo: Vista Irrigation District 2020 Student Poster Contest

Karmen Isabel Simons, a fourth-grade student from St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Vista, received first-place honors from the District for her entry in the competition. She received a $100 award. Photo: Vista Irrigation District

Naiya Langley from Alamosa Park Elementary School in Oceanside and received a second-place award of $50.

Naiya Langley from Alamosa Park Elementary School in Oceanside received a second-place award of $50 for her entry. Photo: Vista Irrigation District

Naiya Langley from Alamosa Park Elementary School in Oceanside received a second-place award of $50. Photo: Vista Irrigation District

Angelica Zetina from Mission Meadows Elementary School in Oceanside received a third-place award of $25.

Angelica Zetina from Mission Meadows Elementary School in Oceanside received a third place award of $25 for her entry in the contest. Photo: Vista Irrigation District

Angelica Zetina from Mission Meadows Elementary School in Oceanside received a third place award of $25 for her contest entry. Photo: Vista Irrigation District

‘Love Water, Save Water’ 2020 contest theme

The poster contest is open to all fourth-grade students in public and private schools within the District’s service areas in the city of Vista, and portions of San Marcos, Escondido, Oceanside, and unincorporated areas of San Diego County. Its goal is to promote understanding of water issues in elementary schools.

“Each year I continue to be amazed at the quality of the artwork produced by the students entering the contest,” said Brent Reyes, Vista Irrigation District water conservation specialist. “Each year it seems the Water Awareness Calendar created using the students’ artwork gets better and better.”

The three winning posters were selected from 110 entries based upon their depiction of the theme, artwork, originality, and poster design. Simons’ poster will appear in the 2021 Water Awareness Calendar. The calendar will be available free of charge at the District’s office in November 2020.

East County AWP-Water Supply Projects-Water Recycling

San Diego Local Water Supply Projects Get Big Funding Boost

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Two major water projects in San Diego County this week received a major financial boost to enhance the region’s water supply. The East County Advanced Water Purification Project was approved for up to $91.8 million and a project in the City of Escondido was approved for up to $23.4 million.

The San Diego County Water Authority has helped secure nearly $470 million for local supply projects in the past several months in collaboration with member agencies, including the total of $115 million for the East County and City of Escondido projects. Both projects will increase local water supply reliability and reduce future demands on imported water supplies.

Collaboration on water supply projects

On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Board of Directors approved entering into funding agreements from its Local Resources Program for both projects. The Water Authority and its member agencies are able to participate in the Local Resources Program after a final court ruling found MWD had illegally barred the Water Authority from receiving money from MWD’s local water supply program, even though the Water Authority was forced to pay for it.

“Kudos to our member agencies for their strong applications and to MWD’s Board of Directors for approving them,” said Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer. “It is an affirmation of our ongoing efforts to collaborate with MWD and to address shared challenges.”

Potable reuse project in East San Diego County

The East County AWP will be one of the first potable reuse projects in California to use new reservoir augmentation regulations. The program will meet up to 30% of East County’s drinking water demands, almost 13,000 acre-feet of water per year, and eliminate the discharge of 15 million gallons of partially treated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.

The AWP uses four advanced water purification steps to produce water that is near-distilled in quality. After treatment, purified water will be blended with water in Lake Jennings and treated again at the R.M. Levy Water Treatment Plant before being distributed as drinking water.

This program is a collaborative partnership between Padre Dam Municipal Water District, the County of San Diego, the City of El Cajon and Helix Water District.

Advanced water recycling in Escondido

The Membrane Filtration Reverse Osmosis Facility in Escondido would provide up to 3,280 acre-feet per year of advanced treated recycled water to irrigate farms.

The project includes the construction of an advanced recycled water treatment facility with microfiltration and reverse osmosis, new pipelines, and a storage and blending tank to convey water for agricultural irrigation. Source water for the project is treated recycled water from the Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility. Escondido will own and operate the project and plans to deliver water by 2023.

Regional water supply projects reduce reliance on imported water

In the past several months, the Water Authority has helped member agencies secure three other Local Resources Program agreements to fund water supply projects that increase local supply and reduce reliance on imported water. Those projects are:

  • $23.6 million for the Fallbrook Public Utilities District’s Fallbrook Groundwater Desalter Project
  • $42.7 million for the City of Oceanside Pure Water & Recycled Water Expansion Phase I Project
  • $285.6 million for the City of San Diego’s Pure Water North City Project