San Diego regional water news roundup Apr 29-May 5, 2013
Posted by George J Janczyn on May 6, 2013
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Oceanside plan would use sewage for energy / U-T San Diego : “Oceanside would contract with a private company to build and operate a cogeneration system at its La Salina sewage treatment plant in a bid to cut the plant’s energy costs.” |
Sinkhole in San Ysidro patched up after water main break / 760KFMB.com : “A broken water main in San Ysidro has been repaired after the discovery of a huge sinkhole in the middle of the street Monday.” |
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Water rates could rise 7 percent, sewer 4.5 percent / Ramona Sentinel : “Water rate increases will not exceed 7 percent and sewer rates will not rise more than 4.5 percent, beginning July 1, for customers of the Ramona Municipal Water District. Also proposed is a 5 percent increase for the monthly water service fee.” |
San Diego smoothes way for home-based water recycling / CBS8.com : “The San Diego City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ease municipal code requirements for home-based water recycling systems. Advocates say that so-called “graywater” systems, in which the outflow from clothes washers or showers is directed to landscape irrigation, can reduce household consumption by half.” |
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Energy makes up half of desalination plant costs: study / Bloomberg : “Desalination plants on average use about 15,000 kilowatt- hours of power for every million gallons of fresh water that’s produced, the Pacific Institute said today in a report. In comparison, wastewater reuse draws as much as 8,300 kilowatt- hours of power for the same volume. Poseidon Resources’s Carlsbad desalination plant…will be the Western Hemisphere’s largest…” |
Debate heats up on water overhaul / U-T San Diego : “The combined price tag for a grand redesign of California’s plumbing network now surpasses a staggering $35 billion, although there are signals that the final bill will eventually shrink. San Diego area ratepayers can expect to pay in the neighborhood of $100 more a year…” |
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Rainbow MWD adjusts water and sewer rates / The Fallbrook Village News : “A 5-0 board vote Feb. 26 set April 1 as the date for an increase of $0.03 per unit beyond the first six units … and a five percent increase in the monthly operations and maintenance charge. The district also terminated its reservoir upgrade fee.” |
Dry conditions highlight the value of water as summer nears / San Diego County Water Authority : “As temperatures soared to summer-like highs across the San Diego region on Thursday, the California Department of Water Resources’ final survey of the spring confirmed significantly below-average water content in the snowpack that provides about one-third of the water supplies for the San Diego County Water Authority. Runoff in the Colorado River Basin, the region’s other major imported water source, also is projected to be far below average for the second consecutive year despite April storms that boosted snow levels in the Rocky Mountains.” |
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California water supply to be drawn from storage to meet demand / KPBS : “California’s biggest source of water, the Colorado River basin, has been below normal 11 of the past 14 years. This year’s projected runoff into Lake Powell, which is a good indicator for water supply conditions, is just 44 percent. The dwindling supplies means California will have to draw water from storage for the first time in nearly five years.” |
The desalination energy dilemma / OilPrice.com : “San Diego has already agreed to buy massive amounts of water every year from Carlsbad. The local authorities are gambling that the cost of this water, which is double the cost of available water, will level off eventually. Indeed, as things stand, it will be a hefty bill: around $3 billion over 30 years for 7% of the county’s water requirements. That these prices will fall is a big unknown.” |
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