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San Diego Region on Track to Receive $15 Million for Water Projects

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby Ed Joyce Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Several regional water supply projects in San Diego County are on track to receive more than $15 million from the California Department of Water Resources, pending a final decision on the grants this summer.

Money for the projects has been recommended by DWR, which will make the awards after a public comment period.

In San Diego County, the grant funds would support local agencies to advance conservation, environmental enhancements, water purification and other initiatives.

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East County Advanced Water Purification Program Moves Forward

/in , , /by /WaterWorld

The East County Advanced Water Purification Joint Powers Authority Board of Directors unanimously approved water and wastewater service agreements this week, moving this significant drinking water project one-step closer to reality. These water and wastewater agreements are critical to the JPA’s eligibility for key program financing opportunities.

Water purchase agreements were approved between the East County AWP JPA and Padre Dam Municipal Water District and between the East County AWP JPA and Helix Water District. The water purchase agreements cover the terms and conditions for water delivery volumes and water pricing for the purchase of purified water by Helix as well as Padre Dam’s purchase of purified water and Title 22 recycled water. The water service agreement was previously approved unanimously by Padre Dam’s Board of Directors on May 20, 2020. It is anticipated that Helix Water District will consider approval of the agreement at a Special Board meeting scheduled on May 27, 2020.

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The Problem America Has Neglected for Too Long: Deteriorating Dams

/in , , /by /National Geographicby Maya Wei-Haas

Aging and undermaintained infrastructure in the United States, combined with changing climate over the coming decades, is setting the stage for more dam disasters like the one that struck Midland, Michigan, last week.

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Water Authority Considers 6% Rate Increase for 2021 as COVID-19 Affects Operations

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority is considering rate increases for 2021 of 6.2% for treated water and 6.3% for untreated supplies as the COVID-19 pandemic puts pressure on operations.

The proposal that will be considered by the water authority’s board on May 28 calls for charging member agencies $1,790 per acre-foot for treated water and $1,495 for untreated. A public hearing will follow on June 25.

An acre-foot is about 325,900 gallons — enough to serve the annual needs of 2.5 typical four-person households in San Diego County.

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When Life Dries Up

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Nowhere has California’s dry winter hit harder than the state’s far north.

In a handful of counties along the rural Oregon border, where late-season rains have done little to sate the parched forests and dusty plains, hundreds of farmers are at risk of having their irrigation water shut off — and watching their crops wither in the field.

The Klamath Project, a U.S. government-operated waterworks that steers runoff from the towering Cascades to more than 200,000 acres of potatoes, alfalfa, wheat, onions and other produce on both sides of the state line, is running low on supplies. The local water agencies served by the project say they may not have water to send to farms beyond next month.

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After 30 Years and $330 Million Spent, Water Agency Shelves Las Vegas Pipeline Plan

/in , , /by /Reno Gazette Journal by Benjamin Spillman

Citing conservation gains and a third straw to the bottom of Lake Mead, the Southern Nevada Water Authority on Thursday voted to shelve a proposal for a multi-billion pipeline that would have moved water from Northern and Eastern Nevada to Las Vegas.

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National Public Works Week Recognizes Essential Employees

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

Every time you fill up a water bottle or give the kids a bath, it’s due to the people working as essential employees behind the operation of water and wastewater systems within the San Diego County region’s public works infrastructure.

National Public Works Week takes place the third week of May annually in recognition of the public works professionals who provide and maintain vital public works infrastructure for the key contribution they make every day.

Water industry professionals are committed to serving San Diego County year-round by ensuring the seamless delivery of a safe and reliable water supply. During the coronavirus pandemic, dedicated essential employees have demonstrated exceptional dedication and creativity, making 2020 National Public Works Week especially significant.

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Supervisors Back East County Water Recycling: 15 Million Gallons Daily

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors Wednesday unanimously approved a service agreement for a major drinking water recycling project in East County.

East County Advanced Water Purification is a regional project that includes the county Sanitation District, Padre Dam Municipal Water District, the city of El Cajon and Helix Water District. Those entities are also part of a joint powers authority, which was formed last November.

The agreement covers the amount of wastewater capacity and financial obligations for the Sanitation District, city of El Cajon and the Padre Dam district.

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PFAS Limits in Drinking Water to Take More Than a Year, EPA Says

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Sylvia Carignan

The EPA won’t be able to set drinking water limits for two PFAS chemicals in the next year, agency administrator Andrew Wheeler told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Wednesday.

The Environmental Protection Agency determined that it’ll set maximum contaminant levels (MCL) for the two chemicals—PFOA and PFOS—in drinking water, but hasn’t proposed what those limits should be.

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Less Water Could Sustain More Californians If We Make Every Drop Count

/in , , /by /Phys.org (Stanford University)by Edmund L. Andrews

California isn’t running out of water,” says Richard Luthy. “It’s running out of cheap water. But the state can’t keep doing what it’s been doing for the past 100 years.”

Luthy knows. As a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, as well as director of a National Science Foundation center to re-invent urban water supply (known as ReNUWIt), he has spent decades studying the state’s metropolitan areas.

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