The Olivenhain Municipal Water District recently completed the Manchester Avenue Potable Water Pipeline Project. In total, 3,700 linear feet of aged potable water pipeline was replaced along Manchester Avenue, Rancho Santa Fe Road and Encinitas Boulevard.
The pipelines previously serving water in this area were installed in 1961 and were approaching the end of their lifespan.
Gov. Spencer Cox issued a drought state of emergency effective immediately.
The governor made the announcement at his monthly press conference.
“We’ve had a very volatile water year, and unfortunately, recent spring storms are not enough to make up the shortage in our snowpack,” Cox said in a media release. “Once again, I call on all Utahns – households, farmers, businesses, governments and other groups – to carefully consider their needs and reduce their water use. We saved billions of gallons last year and we can do it again.”
Among the many complex arguments over water in California, one particularly heated debate centers on whether the state should seek more drinking water from a plentiful but expensive source: the Pacific Ocean.
The debate has reached a critical stage in Huntington Beach, where Poseidon Water has been trying for more than two decades to build one of the country’s largest desalination plants. The California Coastal Commission is scheduled to vote next month on whether to grant a permit to build the plant.
More than 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, but only 0.5% it is actually accessible to us. Removing salt from ocean water, known as desalination, can create drinkable water during a time of extreme drought and soaring demand. So what’s the problem?
National City resident Ramel Wallace thought maybe he just forgot to flush the toilet on Thursday night.
Come Friday, faucets in the sink, kitchen and shower all spilled apple juice-colored water, he said. Wallace went straight to a National City Facebook group to crowd-source the reason and saw neighbors posted about the issue.
“A lot of people thought they were tripping,” said Wallace, who said he’s lived in National City for five years.
Running his water didn’t flush-out the color. About midday on Friday, his water cleared up. Wallace said he didn’t get any notification about what caused the discoloration.
The public water agency Sweetwater Authority, which supplies drinking water to National City, confirmed it didn’t issue a press release about the problem because there was nothing to fear.
A multimillion-dollar construction project is almost done on a massive water tank in Mission Trails Regional Park. Once construction is complete, it will likely be forgotten because no one will be able to see it.
The San Diego County Water Authority is wrapping up construction on its newest flow regulatory structure on the western edge of the park. Work began in earnest at the beginning of 2021 on the five-million-gallon water tank and it’s expected to wrap up next month.
Tens of millions of gallons of water are flowing through a major pipeline in North San Diego County after successful repairs on a distressed section of Pipeline 4. The urgent repair project is a testament to the San Diego County Water Authority’s proactive Asset Management Program, which helps maintain water supply reliability while saving ratepayers money.
The current multi-year drought across the West is the most extensive and intense drought in the 22-year history of the U.S. Drought Monitor. Precipitation deficits during the first three months of 2022, across parts of the western U.S., are at or near record levels. As the climatological wet season ends across portions of the West, with below average snow cover and reservoirs at or near record-low levels, concerns for expanding and intensifying drought and water resource deficits are mounting.
During March, the average contiguous U.S. temperature was 44.1°F, 2.6°F above the 20th-century average. This ranked in the warmest third of the 128-year period of record. The year-to-date (January-March) average contiguous U.S. temperature was 36.3°F, 1.2°F above average, ranking in the middle third of the record.
The March precipitation total for the contiguous U.S. was 2.26 inches, 0.25 inch below average, and ranked in the driest third of the 128-year period of record. The year-to-date precipitation total was 5.66 inches, 1.30 inches below average, ranking seventh driest in the January-March record.
Temperatures were above average across much of the West and along the East Coast. California ranked sixth warmest for the January-March period.
The San Diego County Water Authority is providing training opportunities to military veterans looking for new careers in public service as part of the SkillBridge Program. The program is helping military veterans transition to career-track training opportunities, including work in the water and wastewater industry.
Transitioning out of the military from a foreign county and coming back to the states is not an easy task, said Ismael Hernandez. In the case of Hernandez, now finishing his service in the Marine Corps, this involved finding new connections upon returning, leaving behind the military mindset of consistency in day-to-day life and figuring out his future career.
Ismael Hernandez is interning at the San Diego County Water Authority as part of the Skillbridge Program. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
“I was lucky enough to have SkillBridge, but for other [military] members it’s not as easy,” Hernandez said.
The Water Authority is the first public agency in California to participate in the U.S. Department of Defense SkillBridge Program, which connects transitioning military service members to career-track job training opportunities. Skillbridge interns continue to be paid their military salary and benefits. The program was developed by the federal government to provide experience and future career opportunities to military members as they transition to civilian life.
Since joining the federal program in June 2020, the Water Authority has had four SkillBridge interns working in various departments. The program is a win-win for both employers and the transitioning military member – the military servicemember can work fulltime in a participating agency for the last 180 days of their active duty gaining valuable civilian work experience, and the employer gains early access to the extensive experience, skills, and unmatched work ethos service members bring to the workforce, all at no cost.
Hernandez heard about the program from a few of his fellow service members who saw the work he was doing and recommended he look into the program to prepare himself for the future.
“To set yourself up right after the military is very beneficial because the trend for many military members is to not get help at all or have bad living situations and I didn’t want that for myself,” said Hernandez.
Shengliang “Justin” Jin, is also a SkillBridge intern finishing his contract with the Navy. Like Hernandez, he is also working to prepare himself for his future after he leaves military service. SkillBridge is providing him the opportunity to gain experience in the career he wants to pursue.
Shengliang “Justin” Jin is an intern with in the San Diego County Water Authority Finance Department. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Interning in the finance department while finishing his associates degree was Jin’s first step in getting his foot in the door. After spending some time in budgeting, Jin will move into the accounting division at the Water Authority. The move is important to Jin because he wants to add a wide breadth of experience to his resume while pursuing his college education.
“I will be finished with my associates by the end of this year and plan on getting into a university by next fall,” said Jin.
Currently, Hernandez is gaining experience in heavy equipment operations, vegetation management, and other duties related to construction. Hernandez said his intern experience in construction or electrical work is exactly what he hopes to be doing in the future.
“I’m more of a hands-on person and I want to learn these trades,” said Hernandez.
The hands-on work Hernandez has done so far has included working on pipelines, grading roads, as well as laying down cement and wires. While it’s different from the rigid schedule of the same day-to-day tasks Hernandez experienced in the military, he sees this as a learning experience and opportunity for his professional growth.
Hernandez said his goal is to turn his SkillBridge internship into a job and career at the Water Authority.
“If military members believe that they can do it, that they can make something happen, they make it happen,” Hernandez said. “It’s challenging, but at the end of the day you have to keep pushing through and have that mindset and you’ll make it happen.”
The opportunities for both transitioning servicemembers and local water agencies are significant. More than 30,000 service members separate from the military each year in California, and more than half are transitioning out of active duty in the San Diego region.
Roughly half of the current water industry workforce in the San Diego region will be eligible to retire in the next 15 years – and approximately 1,400 water and wastewater industry jobs are expected to open in the region in the next five years.
Martha Guzman recalls those awful days working on water and other issues as a deputy legislative secretary for then-Gov. Jerry Brown. California was mired in a recession and the state’s finances were deep in the red. Parks were cut, schools were cut, programs were cut to try to balance a troubled state budget in what she remembers as “that terrible time.”
She now finds herself in a strikingly different position: As administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 9, she has a mandate to address water challenges across California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii and $1 billion to help pay for it. Guzman called it the “absolutely greatest opportunity.”
Guzman talked with Western Water about how her past experiences are informing her work at EPA, some of the top priorities in EPA Region 9 and how the federal bipartisan infrastructure funding law is providing a unique opportunity to address the region’s water needs, including for tribal nations and disadvantaged communities.
