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Carlos Quintero-Sweetwater Authority-General Manager

Carlos Quintero is New Sweetwater Authority General Manager

Carlos Quintero was appointed as General Manager of the Sweetwater Authority. He starts his new position September 27.

The Sweetwater Authority Governing Board approved Quintero’s contract at its September 8 meeting.

“After a highly-competitive recruitment process, the Governing Board is excited to have Carlos Quintero joining the Authority as General Manager,” said Governing Board Chair Hector Martinez. “His extensive experience in the water industry will serve him well in his new role. We look forward to working with him and continuing the Authority’s mission to serve the community.”

Carlos Quintero

Quintero is a registered Professional Engineer (PE), MIT Graduate and is currently the Operations Manager for the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority in Riverside, California. He has 24 years of water industry experience.

“I am honored to have been appointed General Manager by the Sweetwater Authority Governing Board,” said Carlos Quintero. “I look forward to working closely with our Board of Directors and staff to continue implementing the Board’s priorities and further the Authority’s mission of providing a safe and reliable water supply to its current and future residents and businesses.”

Assistant General Manager Jennifer Sabine has been serving as the Interim General Manager during the recruitment.

Investment in education

Sweetwater Authority invests in the education of students in its service area to foster knowledge and appreciation for the value of water, and to bring awareness to the vital service the Authority provides to its customers and community.

The Authority, the Otay Water District, and the Chula Vista Elementary School District, recently announced that a new display will be added to the Chula Vista Hydro Station. The Hydro Station opened two years ago on August 15, 2019, at the Richard A. Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facility. The Sweetwater Authority and CVESD worked together to create the new display for students.

Sweetwater Authority is a public water agency providing safe, reliable water to National City, Chula Vista and Bonita.

(Editor’s note: The Sweetwater Authority is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)

Opinion: Depleted by Drought, Lakes Powell and Mead Were Doomed from the Beginning

For the first time, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issued a water shortage for Lake Mead starting in 2022. Located between southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona, Lake Mead provides water and generates electricity for the more than 20 million people in the lower Colorado River Basin.

California’s Vital Canals are Crumbling. A Plan to Fix Them Just Died in the Legislature

The major arteries of California’s water-delivery system are crumbling, but a proposal in the state Legislature to spend $785 million fixing them is dead for the year.

The legislation, SB 559 was pulled off the table this week by its chief author, state Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger), after an Assembly committee stripped the funding and made other changes to the legislation. Hurtado’s decision turns SB 559 into a two-year bill that could be revived next year.

California Groundwater Pumping Project Can Proceed, for Now

Environmental groups failed to justify blocking the federal government from funding groundwater pumping in the Sacramento River Valley pending a preliminary injunction hearing, a federal court in California ruled.

There’s no evidence that pumping will immediately occur without injunctive relief, according to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

Tree Care Tips Preserve Benefits During Drought

Trees are among the most valuable investment in San Diego County’s landscape – including your own waterwise landscaping. Trees stand out as key performers in your landscape design for multiple reasons. No other landscape plant offers greater benefits to your landscape and the greater environment.

Antioch Launches the Region’s First Water Desalination Project

The city of Antioch’s water supply has been challenged in recent years by a variety of factors. But the Brackish Water Desalination Project, the first desalination project of its kind in the five-county Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region, is intended to improve the reliability of the city’s water.

The city filed its notice of preparation for the project just over four years ago and then broke ground on the plant in February of this year.

Initiative Would Allocated Two Percent of State Budget to Water

There have been all kinds of efforts and money allocated to trying to solve California’s water woes. Now an organization states it has the solution — the 2 percent solution.

In what it’s calling the 2 percent solution More Water Now is working to place an initiative on the November 2022 ballot that would require 2 percent of the state budget to be allocated to the state’s water resources. If placed on the ballot and approved the water abundance ballot initiative would set aside 2 percent of the state budget to water.

There has been a great deal of water allocated toward dealing with California’s water issues, which includes a $7.5 billion bond measure that was passed by the state’s voters in 2014. But seven years later that bond has done little to place a dent in dealing with the state’s water woes.

National Awards for Pure Water San Diego’s John Carroll

John Carroll, the City of San Diego’s Pure Water Treatment Plant superintendent, received the 2021 Robert O. Vernon Membrane Plant Operator of the Year Award from the American Membrane Technology Association and the American Water Works Association.

This award recognizes outstanding contributions to water supply improvement by an individual working at a membrane filtration, desalination, and/or water reuse facility. Carroll was selected in recognition of his service and dedication to membrane operations and for his leadership within the industry.

“My selection would not have been possible without the support of many dedicated and talented individuals, the fellow coworkers, consultants, and volunteers to whom I owe all my success,” said Carroll.

What is the Drought’s Effect on Western U.S. Water Resources?

Droughts in the Western U.S. make headlines worldwide, posing particular challenges for people living and working in the affected regions. Here’s a close examination of the effects of drought on available water resources.

The Effects of California Drought Vary by Location

People regularly discuss California when talking about long-term drought, particularly because the state often experiences prolonged water shortages. Some experts believe that rather than going through brief non-drought periods, the state is actually enduring a so-called emerging megadrought and has been for the last two decades.

Drought Emergency: Santa Clara Water Officials Issue Dire Warning as Reservoirs Dip to Historic Lows

With the state in the grips of a historic drought, reservoirs in Santa Clara County are at extremely low levels, as seen in a new video from the county’s water provider.

Santa Clara Valley Water, which provides for and manages the water needs of two million people in the county, released a new video Wednesday illustrating the dire state of the county’s reservoirs.