San Diego regional water news roundup Nov 8-15, 2011
Posted by George J Janczyn on November 16, 2011
( A selective roundup of regional water news reports. Click headline to read full story at originating website.)
|
Wetlands restoration is complete / Coast News : “The 150-acre restoration of the San Dieguito Wetlands was deemed complete in a Nov. 7 dedication ceremony, bringing to an end 14 years of planning, permitting and construction to create one of the largest projects of its kind on the West Coast.” |
SD studying concept that turns sewage to drinking water / 10News : “The process has proved so effective in Orange County that plans have already been approved to expand the system to recycle 100 million gallons of water per day by 2014.” |
|
|
SAN MARCOS: Local agencies aim to clean up lake, creek / North County Times : “Facing algae blooms in Lake San Marcos and contamination in San Marcos Creek, more than half a dozen local agencies have decided to work together to cut pollution entering the waters, rather than wait for a clean-up order from the regional board.” |
How clean should San Diego Bay be? / SignOnSanDiego : “Leaders at the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board had hoped to issue a final cleanup order in mid-December — nearly seven years after the first proposal — but now that doesn’t seem possible because the agency’s nine-seat governing panel doesn’t have enough members for a quorum…” |
|
|
Pipeline project puts future of city company in doubt / The Sun Chronicle : “William Walsh of W. Walsh Company, which installs cement linings in pipelines, said he’s been caught in the middle of a legal dispute between the San Diego County Water Authority and the general contractor for the authority’s 11-mile pipeline project.” |
Groups demand cleanup of San Diego Bay / KPBS : “San Diego environmental groups are demanding the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board take action on a cleanup plan for San Diego Bay.” |
|
|
Padre Dam MWD dedicates water recycling facility to Ray Stoyer / Padre Dam Municipal Water District : “The water reclamation project has received global recognition as an example of how to use recycled water for recreational use.” |
SD’s water-hogging landscapes give way to new ethic / SignOnSanDiego : “Like early adopters of the latest electronic gadget, some San Diego homeowners and commercial property owners have already made the switch from water-hogging grass to a xeriscaped plant palette that not only uses less water but requires less fertilizer and maintenance as well.” |
|
|
Powerlink tap water use continues / SignOnSanDiego : “SDG&E uses an average of 300,000 gallons a day of drinking water to help control dust and compact soil for construction…” |
Partner pulling out of Mexican water plant / SignOnSanDiego : “A partner in a proposed desalination plant in Mexico that would supply millions of gallons of water to customers of the Otay Water District is seeking out of the project.” |
|
|
EDITORIAL: Fair flow? / North County Times : “We generally take a very dim view of having one branch of government sue another. But in this instance, we see the value of the county Water Authority’s ongoing lawsuit against MWD.” |
The energy, and expense, of bringing water to the Southland / Los Angeles Times : “The twin forces of power costs and climate-change regulations are threatening Southern California’s long love affair with imported water, forcing the region to consider more mundane sources closer to home.” |
|
|
North County bands together to recycle water / North County Times : “Oceanside water officials hope to someday treat 75 percent of the approximately 10 million gallons that flow into the plant each day to a level that it could be rerouted from an ocean outflow pipe to lawns and landscapes throughout the city.” |
Big water deals creating anxiety in California / Ventura County Star : “Just look what’s happening now between San Diego County and one of its two leading water suppliers, El Centro’s Imperial Irrigation District. Then check out the confusion and possible deception surrounding the perpetually troubled delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.” |
GrokSurf's San Diego 
Burt Freeman said
The 10News article, above, cites a lowball cost of reused water for the Orange County Water District that is in need of a critical review. The water in question is 70.000 acre feet per year of treated, reused water that is injected into their aquifer, half of which is used as a salinity barrier, and half for aquifer recharge. Granted that the determination of water cost is complicated in such a system, allowance for treatment, delivery, injection, recovery and distribution should be included.
The San Diego County Water Authority staff reported on “Unit Cost of New Local Water Supply Alternatives” at the Authority’s board meeting on September 15, 2010.The report attributes to the Orange County reuse program a cost of $887 per acre foot plus recovery cost of $412/AF = $1299 (2010 dollars). It is not clear whether the additional costs of final treatment and delivery are included in this number.
The City of San Diego potable reuse program, also cited in the Authority’s report, is much more expensive, as well as containing a much different (and problematic?) reservoir sequestration plan.