Tag Archive for: Water Supply

City of Poway-Water Improvement Project-Water Infrastructure Project

Water Infrastructure Project to Begin in Poway

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Construction will start soon on the first of three projects to increase the reliability of drinking water for Poway water customers now and generations to come. Two water storage tanks will be built as part of a temporary bypass project.

During construction access to some amenities at Lake Poway will be impacted.

The ballfield at Lake Poway will be closed beginning Monday, September 20 for the construction of two tanks, each with the capacity to store 1.4 million gallons of treated water. The tanks are part of the temporary bypass project, which once completed will allow the city to move forward with replacing the clearwell (treated water storage) at the water treatment plant.

The parking lot adjacent to the volleyball court will be used for equipment staging and parking. It tentatively will be fenced off the week of Sept. 13. The Public Works parking lot off Lake Poway Road, which is open to the public for free parking on the weekends, will be closed beginning Sept. 20.

The clearwell replacement project is expected to be completed by Fall 2024. At that time the ballfield will be fully restored and both parking areas will reopen. 

City of Poway-Water Infrastructure-Water Improvement Projects

The clearwell replacement project consists of replacing the existing clearwell with two new reservoirs. Graphic: City of Poway

Largest Capital Improvement Program in Poway history

With the goal of increasing the reliability of drinking water for water customers now and generations to come, the City of Poway is undertaking the largest capital improvement program (CIP) in the city’s 40-year history.

The CIP will include replacing the clearwell (water storage reservoir) at the water treatment plant and a new San Diego County Water Authority treated water connection and redundant pipeline. In order to replace the clearwell, a temporary bypass project will include two 1.4 million-gallon tanks for storing treated water.

City of Poway-Water infrastructure project-Temporary Bypass Project

Construction is set to begin soon on a water infrastructure project in the City of Poway. Graphic: City of Poway

Water Authority treated water connection/redundant pipeline

The San Diego County Water Authority treated water connection and redundant pipeline project provides Poway with its first treated water connection to the SDCWA’s treated water aqueduct, as well as providing redundant pipelines. The project will help diversify Poway’s water supply portfolio and allow for operational flexibility and plant maintenance. It will also provide a redundant pipeline to the 36″ water transmission line on Lake Poway Road, which is currently the single transmission line that carries treated water to the distribution system.

The infrastructure improvement projects are moving ahead as part of a mutually beneficial agreement between Poway and the State Division of Drinking Water.

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

Carlos Quintero-Sweetwater Authority-General Manager

Carlos Quintero is New Sweetwater Authority General Manager

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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

/in , , /by /Washington Postby Becky Bolinger

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.

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

/in , , /by /Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

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.

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California Groundwater Pumping Project Can Proceed, for Now

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Maya Earls

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.

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Tree Care Tips Preserve Benefits During Drought

/in , , /by /Water News Network

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.

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Antioch Launches the Region’s First Water Desalination Project

/in , , /by /The Pressby Tony Kukulich

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.

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Initiative Would Allocated Two Percent of State Budget to Water

/in , , /by /The Porterville Recorderby Charles Whisnand

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.

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National Awards for Pure Water San Diego’s John Carroll

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

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.

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

/in , , /by /Water & Wastes Digestby Emily Newton

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.

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