San Diego regional water news roundup Feb 16-22, 2012
Posted by George J Janczyn on February 23, 2012
A selected roundup of news related to the San Diego regional water supply system. Click headlines for the full story at originating website.
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Lake Wohlford to get a new dam / U-T San Diego : “The lake sits about 900 feet above and a couple miles east of Escondido. If filled, it could hold more than 2 billion gallons of water held back by a dam that was built 112 years ago.” |
San Elijo wins ‘Plant of the Year’ award for San Diego area / Encinitas Patch : “The California Water Environment Association (CWEA) recently awarded the San Elijo Water Reclamation Facility in Cardiff with the 2011 Plan of the Year title for the San Diego area. The plant will now advance in competition for a statewide award.” |
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Parties in QSA case questioning bias of appellate judge / Imperial Valley Press : “Protect Our Water and Environmental Rights filed a response last week in the Quantification Settlement Agreement case…The group claimed that because Presiding Judge Ronald B. Robie had served as the director of the state Department of Water Resources and conceived what the group said ultimately became the underlying structure of the QSA, he should have recused himself.” |
Court reaffirms prior order granting discovery in Water Authority’s rate case against Metropolitan Water District of Southern California / San Diego County Water Authority : “San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard A. Kramer today reaffirmed his January 6 order granting discovery in the San Diego County Water Authority’s lawsuit challenging 2011 and 2012 water rates adopted by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. In reaffirming his prior ruling, Judge Kramer rebuffed attempts by MWD to assert limits on discovery before the process has even commenced.” |
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Otay Water District adopts new division boundaries / La Prensa San Diego : “The Otay Water District’s (District) Board of Directors has adopted a resolution that re-apportions the District’s five divisions. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the District consistently ranked as one of the fastest growing water districts in San Diego County.” |
Water rate hikes leave $630 million unused / U-T San Diego : “In 2007, the Public Utilities Department projected it would spend $585 million on water capital improvements by the close of fiscal 2011. In fact, the department spent $372 million on projects promised as a part of the rate increases. Documents show the department planned to spend an additional $648 million on wastewater projects through fiscal 2013, and has spent about $239 million on projects related to the rate increases.” |
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Water tunnels would be huge project — if they clear huge obstacles / Sacramento Bee : “The tunnel project is intended to move the intakes upstream, to locations presumed to be less harmful to fish and their habitat. It would also secure the freshwater diversions from threats such as earthquakes, floods and sea level rise, ensuring that the 25 million Californians who depend upon that water do not go without. To make it happen, all of those water ratepayers, from the Silicon Valley to San Diego, likely will have to pay higher bills.” |
Public Utilities flush with cash but behind on projects / KPBS : “When San Diego city officials launched a series of utility-rate hikes in 2007, they expected to spend more than a billion dollars on projects to shore up aging water and sewer systems rife with leaks. But things have not gone as planned.” |
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Del Mar Council supports lawsuit against Metropolitan Water District / Del Mar Times : “The Del Mar City Council on Feb. 21 voted unanimously to support the San Diego County Water Authority’s (SDCWA) rate challenge lawsuit against the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD)…SDCWA claims the water district illegally overcharges San Diego County ratepayers tens of millions of dollars annually…” |
Otay Water District uses Interactive Intelligence Unified IP Communications Solution to improve customer service / Virtual Strategy Magazine : ““CIC’s automated and self-service applications, such as ACD, IVR and in-queue callback, have enabled us to maintain a 98 percent answer rate, while actually reducing staff levels,” said Otay Water District’s customer service manager, Andrea Carey. “The Interactive Intelligence applications have enabled us to do things like send automated notifications to customers about late payments, high water usage, and changes to their accounts,” Carey said.” |
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