Tag Archive for: Water Supply

California To Send 200 Litres of Water per Second to Mexico Amid Shortage

The San Diego County Water Authority will supply the Mexican state of Baja California with 200 liters of water per second to support Tijuana residents during the summer. This water will be delivered through an international pipeline connecting San Diego, California, to Tijuana.

“There is a greater demand when it gets hot,” said Carlos Alberto Machado Parra, director for Baja’s Public Service and Planning Commission (CESPT) in Tijuana, according to Border Report. “We always maintain this binational connection so we can supply neighborhoods that may be short on supply. “

OPINION: Californians Will Have to Use Less Water Under State Board’s New Rules

It’s been said in different ways by a variety of people, but there’s more than just a grain of truth in it: If the federal bureaucracy or a socialist regime were ever put in charge of the Sahara Desert, there would eventually be a shortage of sand. This helps explain why there is such a scarcity of water in California that permanent use restrictions have been, for the first time in the state’s history, set.

On July 3, the California State Water Resources Control Board approved the rules for “Making Conservation a California Way of Life.” Under this framework, retail water suppliers are going to have to figure out how to meet the imposed “water use objective,” which “is 70% or less of the supplier’s average annual water use” in 2024-26 by July 2040.

OPINION: California Could Lose up to 9 Million Acre-Feet of Water by 2050. Here’s What Can be Done

California’s water supply is trending poorly. Unless we act now to transform how California manages its water — by passing an important bill that would update our approach — the state will soon lose some of its year-to-year supply.

By 2050, California is expected to lose between 4.6 and 9 million acre-feet of its annual water supply. In other words, by 2050 at the latest, Californians would lose access to a volume of water that is enough to supply 50-90% of all the state’s households — or to irrigate 17-33% of all the state’s farmland. Picture a volume of water as large as two Lake Shastas disappearing from the state’s water bank.

Border Report: Rosarito Desal Plant Could Finally Get off the Ground

As water shortages loom in Baja California, the state’s plans for a desalination plant are back on track after years of delay.

An undeveloped 50-acre plot next to a power plant in northern Rosarito Beach – envisioned as the site of the proposed desalination facility – is now in Mexican government hands. By the end of the year, the state of Baja California expects to invite prospective developers to submit bids.

north sd water reuse logo

North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition Recommended for Over $6 Million in Federal Funding to Further Improve Local Water Supply Reliability

Encinitas, Calif. — On June 13, the United States Bureau of Reclamation recommended to Congress that the North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition receive over $6 million in grant funding from the federal Title XVI program to develop recycled water infrastructure in San Diego’s North County.

“This federal investment to strengthen our region’s recycled water infrastructure is crucial to meet demand and reliability,” said Representative Scott Peters. “Multi-agency projects allow us to stretch public resources and help accelerate results that will benefit the entire region.”

San Diego County Stepping up to Help Calgary Water Crisis

Concrete pipes weighing over 12 thousand pounds. They have a long journey ahead. The San Diego County Water Authority is sending two of the pipes 16 hundred miles north. They are going to Calgary to help with the water crisis.

“This is one of several pieces of pipe we have in our yard that we store in case of emergency. Thankfully we are able to release two of these pipes to Calgary. They need it more than we do,” said Martin Coghill.

Atlanta Officials Say Water Repairs Are Done After 5 Days of Outages and Service is Being Restored

City of Atlanta officials say workers finished repairs on a ruptured water main on Tuesday and that water problems in the city are coming to an end after five days.

The city said Tuesday night that workers had placed new pipes after a leak that sent a gushing river into the streets of the city’s Midtown neighborhood. Officials said water had been restored to a bar and a hotel immediately adjoining the leak and that they were gradually increasing pressure in the system.

Newsom Praises Court Ruling Dismissing Environmental Groups’ Challenge of Sites Reservoir

California’s plan to build the state’s first new major reservoir in decades is advancing after a court rejected a challenge by environmental groups.

In the ruling last week, a Yolo County Superior Court judge sided against environmental advocates who had argued Sites Reservoir would harm the Sacramento River’s ecosystem and threaten imperiled fish species.

Water Authority Begins Three-year Project on Oldest Aqueduct

A three-year construction project on San Diego’s oldest aqueduct is underway, with the San Diego County Water Authority leading the $66 million effort to upgrade the infrastructure. Work on the project, known as the Southern First Aqueduct Facilities Improvement Project, is slated to run through summer 2026 and is intended to retrofit 99 structures connected to two water pipelines.

Meet the “Robots” Protecting San Diego’s Water Pipelines

Much like your body, public infrastructure needs constant care and attention. Check-ups, tests, and consistent monitoring help you stay on top of your health. It’s similar with the regional water infrastructure, with 1,400 structures, 308 miles of large pipelines, a dam, a water treatment plant, as well as pump stations and hydroelectric facilities. All pieces working together as one integrated system, much like your body, yet all of it aging, day by day.  

Monitoring and assessing the condition of the regional water infrastructure is the responsibility of the “doctor” of asset management, Martin Coghill, Operations and Maintenance Manager at the Water Authority, and his staff.   

During the last week of May, members of the Water Authority’s Board of Directors were treated to a showcase of technologies, as well as incredible stories from Coghill and his staff about their use – and how they help the organization save time and money. 

A history of innovation

The Water Authority has long been on the cutting edge of testing and utilizing the latest technology to help assess the condition of its system. This is important because Water Authority pipelines no longer traverse formerly agricultural and rural settings. San Diego County has urbanized quite a bit over the last half-century, and a ruptured pipeline in a now urban setting is likely to threaten property and the livelihoods of those living nearby.

In 2006, a large-diameter pipeline ruptured in the western portion of Mission Trails Regional Park. Thankfully, damage wasn’t worse, not only because of the remote location, but also thanks to the rapid response of Water Authority staff that closed valves to stop the flow of water.

Though the break was unfortunate, it provided critical data to the Water Authority, who had recently installed a new technology inside the pipe – an acoustic fiber optic cable. That AFO cable heard pings as the pipeline started to fail and recorded that data. As a result, that type of cable has been installed in other pipelines throughout San Diego County to help monitor their health.

Now, Coghill and his team know what it sounds like when a section of pipe is in distress. That technology works alongside other technologies to provide critical data about the condition of the pipe, which then helps Coghill and his staff develop a recommendation for repair before the pipe fails.

In the 1980’s, Water Authority staff thought up an ingenious solution to reline a certain kind of pipe called Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe with new steel liners. That repair solution continues to be the preferred solution by the Water Authority and other water agencies around the world to repair those sorts of pipes. The bonus is that this method of repair saves the agency millions of dollars each year and is less intrusive than digging up and replacing those sections of pipelines. 

An eye to the future

This innovative culture continues to breed new, cost-effective solutions.  

One historical challenge has been assessing the condition of the pipe while it’s in service. In the past, pipelines had to be dewatered before crews could enter them to deploy tools and assess their condition. One fairly new technology that allows the pipelines to stay in service – saving water and money – are acoustic leak detection devices. These tools are inserted into a live pipe and travel with the flow of water. They can detect sounds of active leaks.   

Another challenge has been “getting eyes” on the inside of the approximately 1,400 structures along the pipelines. In order to inspect them on a routine basis, staff have had to climb down into the structures and take photos. The confined space makes this task hazardous and difficult. Recently, one of Coghill’s staff developed a tool using a 360-degree action camera mounted on a telescopic pole. Staff was able to save the organization money by purchasing the components separately and assembling them. This innovative solution saved the Water Authority nearly $9,000, which does not include the staff time saved from having to climb in and out of each structure to take the same photos. 

These new technologies and tools produce large amounts of very important data. It takes Coghill and his team many hours to comb through it, crunch the numbers, and analyze it to develop recommendations for repairs or replacement. His team is considering other data storage and reporting options, including use of artificial intelligence and/or other software that could streamline efforts to analyze the data.

While the technology showcase was just a one-day event, the use of the featured technologies, along with monitoring and condition assessment efforts, continue, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. At the heart of it all lies a team and their tools embedded in a culture of innovation – an investment for the future that helps safeguard our region’s long-term sustainability.