WaterSanDiego
TALKING POINTS:
ALERT:
State Water Resources Control Board, the agency that carries out Governor Brown's
edicts, has announced that they plan to continue, and likely expand, restrictions, with minimal credit for water agencies which, like San Diego, have developed local water supplies.
Please submit comments with the subject line: “Comments on Regulatory Framework”
by email to: Kathy Frevert at Kathy.Frevert@waterboards.ca.gov
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/conservation_portal/docs/extended_reg_framework.pdf?utm_source=Voice+of+San+Diego+Master+List&utm_campaign=d908197522-Morning_Report&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c2357fd0a3-d908197522-84102437&goal=0_c2357fd0a3-d908197522-84102437
CONTACT CHAIR FELICIA MARCUS AND LET HER KNOW WE WANT FULL CREDIT FOR THE WATER SUPPLY WE HAVE DEVELOPED DUE TO
DECADES OF PLANNING AND INVESTMENT
Phone: (916) 341-5254 email: info@waterboards.ca.gov
ALERT: Governor Brown has stated clear plans to continue imposing
significant restrictions on water use, and refuses to commit to removing restrictions
that prevent San Diegans from using the water we have paid to have developed.
CONTACT GOVERNOR BROWN TO DEMAND THAT HE
REMOVE ALL WATER RESTRICTIONS IN SAN DIEGO IMMEDIATELY.
LET HIM KNOW THAT TECHNOLOGY, NOT DEPRIVATION,
IS OUR ANSWER TO DROUGHT.
Phone: (916) 445-2841 email: https://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php
San Diego's water supply:
San Diego has an adequate water supply for 2015 and 2016 (even without the mandated restrictions and expected strong El Niño) due to:
- Imperial Irrigation District water transfer, 2003: + 200,000 acre feet per year by 2019
- Lining of All American and Coachella canals completed 2010: + 77,700 acre feet per year
- Carlsbad desalination plant, completed 2015: + 153.5 acre feet per day, 56,000 acre feet per year
- Recycled water projects: + 38,660 acre feet
Additionally, our emergency storage project has been expanded:
- Oivenhain Dam and Reservoir, completed 2003: storage capacity 24,000 acre feet
(87% of capacity as of 10/19/15; 3,349 acre feet above last year)
- San Vicente Dam raised, more than doubling capacity of San Vicente reservoir, in 2015, adding 152,000 acre feet
(49.5% of capacity as of 10/19/15, approximately 34,385 acre feet above last year)
and will continue to fill, as the water San Diegans are not allowed to use will be pumped into San Vicente Dam.
San Diego is developing additional sources of water:
- Padre Dam recycled water project: + 2,0000-3,000 acre feet by 2016
- San Diego recycled water project (PURE water): + 254.7 acre feet by 2035
and more.
The development of these and other drought-proof water sources is threatened by Governor Brown's sweeping water use restrictions.
Lake Mead supplies a significant amount of the water used in San Diego County, along with the rest of Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates Lake Mead, sees no shortage in 2016 or 2017.
San Diego's conservation history:
Potable water use by the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies has decreased more than 20% since 2007.
Per capita water use in the Water Authority’s service area has fallen from more than 200 gallons per person/day to less than 150 gpcd over the past decade . . . . In 2015 total regional use of potable water is projected to be about 21 percent less than it was in 1990, even with a population increase of approximately 30 percent over that period.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL WATER BOARD
ATTEND AND SPEAK AT PUBLIC MEETINGS
Encourage local water board members to increase their efforts
to maximize our investments and their efforts
Public agencies are required to allow 15 minutes at the beginning of public meetings for
members of the public to speak. Each individual is allowed 3 minutes.
There are individuals on the boards who want to stand up for your rights as a ratepayer, but they need your support.
Be sure to call ahead, or check the water board website, to confirm meeting times and places, as they can change.
If you can't attend a meeting, letters to the board members help, too.
December 10, 9:00 a.m. San Diego County Water Authority Monthly Board Meeting
4677 Overland Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123
http://www.sdcwa.org/meetings-and-documents
FIND YOUR WATER DISTRICT:
http://www.sdcwa.org/find-your-water-district/
WATER DISTRICT MEETING DATES, LOCATIONS, CONTACT INFO:
Fallbrook, 4:00 p.m., 11/23/15, 990 East Mission Road, Fallbrook, CA 92028 Phone: (619) 667-6232/(760) 728-1125 https://www.fpud.com
Helix Water District, 2:00 p.m. 11/4/15, 11/18/15, 7811 University Avenue, La Mesa, CA 91941 Phone: (619) 466-0585 http://www.hwd.com/board/meetings-etc.htm
Lakeside Water District, 5:30 p.m. 11/18/15, 10375 Vine Street, Lakeside, CA 92040, Phone: (619) 443-3805
http://lakesidewater.org/?page_id=24
Sweetwater Authority, (National City, South Bay Irrigation District), 6:00 p.m. 11/11/2015, Administration Building, 505 Garrett Ave., Chula Vista, CA 91910 (619) 420-1413 http://www.sweetwater.org/index.aspx?recordid=2181&page=60
Olivenhain Municipal Water District, 4: p.m., 11/4/15, 1966 Olivenhain Road, Encinitas, CA 92024 Phone: (760) 753-6466 http://www.olivenhain.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=7
Otay Water District, 3:30 p.m. 11/4/15, 2554 Sweetwater Springs Blvd., Spring Valley, CA 91977 Phone: (619) 670-2222 http://www.otaywater.gov/board-agenda/
Padre Dam Municipal Water District, 3:30 p.m. 11/4/15 (first and third Wednesdays), 9300 Fanita Parkway, Santee CA, 92071 Phone: (619) 448-3111 http://www.padredam.org/Faq.aspx?QID=60
Rainbow Municipal Water District, 1:00 p.m. 11/17/15, 3707 Old Highway 395, Fallbrook, CA 92028-2500 Phone: (760) 728-1178 http://www.rainbowmwd.com/meetings
Ramona Municipal Water District, 2:00 p.m. 11/10/15 (second Tuesday), Ramona Community Center, 434 Aqua Lane, Ramona, CA 92065 Phone: (760) 789-1330 http://www.rmwd.org/board-of-directors
Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District, 6:00 p.m. 11/10/15 (second Tuesday), 1920 North Iris Lane, Escondido, CA 92026 Phone: (760) 745-5522 http://www.rinconwater.org/component/dpcalendar/event/259?catid=70
San Dieguito Water District, 5:00 p.m. 11/18/15 (third Wednesday), 160 Calle Magdalena. Encinitas, CA 92024 Phone: (760) 633-2650 http://encinitasca.gov/index.aspx?page=99
Santa Fe Irrigation District 8:30 a.m., 11/19/15 (third Thursday), 5920 Linea del Cielo, Rancho Santa Fe, California 92067 Phone: (858) 756-2424 http://www.sfidwater.org/index.aspx?page=227
Vallecitos Water District, 4:00 p.m. 11/4/15 and 11/18/15 (first and third Wednesdays), 201 Vallecitos de Oro, San Marcos, CA 92069 Phone: (760) 744-0460 http://www.vwd.org/departments/board-of-directors
Valley Center Municipal Water District, 2:00 p.m. 11/2/15 and 11/16/15 (first and third Mondays), 29300 Valley Center Road Valley Center, CA 92082 Phone: (760) 749-1600 http://www.vcmwd.org/Board/Agendas-and-Minutes
Vista Irrigation District, 8:30 a.m., 11/4/15 and 11/18/15 (first and third Wednesdays), 1391 Engineer St., Vista, CA 92081 Phone: (760) 597-3100 http://www.vid-h2o.org/bod/agenda.asp
Yuima Municipal Water District, 2:00 p.m. 11/20/15, 34928 Valley Center Road, Pauma Valley, CA 92061-0177 Phone: (760) 742-3704 http://yuimamwd.com/content.php?ID=25
November 18, 9:00 a.m. California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Region
San Diego Water Board Meeting Room, 2375 Northside Drive, San Diego, CA 92108
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/sandiego/board_info/agendas/
CONTACT YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS
TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THE FACTS
San Diego Union Tribune: Letters to the Editor
email: letters@utsandiego.com
Mail: Letters Editor, U-T San Diego, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191.
To be considered for publication, a letter must include a full name, community of residence and a daytime phone number (not for publication) and, if mailed, be signed.
Commentaries/OpEds: Send to Community Opinion Editor Blanca Gonzalez
email: blanca.gonzalez@utsandiego.com
Fax: (619) 260-5081
Mail: Community Opinion Editor Blanca Gonzalez, U-T San Diego, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191.
Op-eds must be exclusive to the U-T to be considered for publication. Submissions should be 700-750 words.
Voice of San Diego
Commentaries: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1FlRcWdmgDwu5HXPXX8IHB6nPQbLTMrJ7YF43h2dGo2c/viewform
The commentary should be no more than 900 words max; we only publish commentaries that are exclusive to VOSD
ADD ON-LINE COMMENTS TO ARTICLES ABOUT OUR WATER SUPPLY:
Del Mar Times, Solana Sun, Carmel Valley News: http://www.delmartimes.net/news/local-news/solana-beach/
Rancho Santa Fe Review: http://www.ranchosantafereview.com/news/our-columns/
CONTACT THE POLITICIANS WHO ARE
DENYING US ACCESS TO WATER
LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU KNOW SAN DIEGO HAS NO SHORTAGE OF SUPPLY;
DEMAND ACCESS TO THE WATER YOU HAVE PAID TO HAVE DEVELOPED
Governor Jerry Brown:
https://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php
State Water Resources Control Board
Felicia Marcus, Board Chair
and/or
Office of Public Participation
1001 I Street, 24th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 341-5254
email: info@waterboards.ca.gov
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/about_us/
San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors:
http://www.sdcwa.org/board
Santa Fe Irrigation District Board of Directors:
http://www.sfidwater.org/index.aspx?page=48
Olivenhein Municipal Water District Board of Directors:
https://www.olivenhain.com/about-us/governing-board
FIND YOUR STATE SENATOR/ASSEMBLY MEMBER:
http://assembly.ca.gov/assemblymembers
State Senator Marty Block
San Diego District Office 701 B Street, Suite 1840 San Diego, 92101 Phone: (619) 645-3133
email: http://sd39.senate.ca.gov/contact/email
Toni Atkins, Speaker of the Assembly
District Office: 1350 Front St., Room 6054, San Diego, CA 92101
Tel: (619) 645-3090
email: https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD78
State Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez
District Office: 1350 Front Street, Suite 6022, San Diego, CA 92101
Tel: (619) 338-8090
email: https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD80
State Assembly Member Brian Jones
District Office: 10152 Mission Gorge Road, Santee, CA 92071
Tel: (619) 441-2322
email: https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD71
State Assembly Member Brian Malenschein
District Office
12396 World Trade Drive, Suite 118, San Diego, CA 92128
Tel: (858) 675-0077
email: https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD77
State Assembly Member Marie Waldron
District Office
350 West 5th Avenue, Suite 110, Escondido, CA 92025
Tel: (760) 480-7570
email: https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD75
State Assembly Member Shirley Weber
District Office 1350 Front Street, Suite 6046, San Diego, CA 92101 Tel: (619) 531-7913
email: https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD79
I
Some questions to consider:
We live next to the largest body of water in the world, the technology to make it drinkable has been around since before Thomas Jefferson, and scientists and engineers are improving it all the time. There is a huge supply, a huge demand, with the science, technology and entrepreneurial know how to make an abundance of water available to everyone at an affordable price.
Who and what is standing in the way, and why?
To our politicians:
Why, instead of bowing to Governor Brown's edict, are you not holding San Diego up as an example to the rest of the state of using technology to increase supply, instead of depending only on rain?
According to the County Water Authority and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, we have no water shortage in San Diego today, or prospectively for the coming two years. Why are you raising our rates, assessing fines and penalties, and dispatching water police to make us reduce our water use when there is in fact no shortage of supply?
Why is our money being spent on paying people to tear out their landscaping and buy new plumbing, and paying "water cops" to hunt for anyone using water in an unapproved time and way, instead of developing and implementing an improved water supply?
Why will it take another 20 years for the Pure Water program to be fully implemented? Why is that program not being fast-tracked?
What are your plans for building more desalinization plants?
If "officials with the city said that expanding the purple pipe system is expensive and slow work. . ." and it will take 20 years to build a water purification program, it is clear that the various government agencies are not up to the task. Why is this not opened up to the scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs who are more than willing and able to provide us with plenty of affordable water in a reasonable span of time?