Here’s how much rain fell on Monday and early Tuesday at more than 50 locations across San Diego County. A new round of rain will move ashore on Christmas night and will last into Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
San Onofre: 1.85″
Brown Field: 1.74″
Otay Mountain: 1.70″
Lake Cuyamaca: 1.66″
Kearny Mesa: 1.38″
Point Loma: 1.36″
Normally sunny San Diego got more rain than Seattle last month, a reverse of what residents of both West Coast cities have to come to expect.
The National Weather Service recorded just under 3 inches of rain with their monitoring station at Lindbergh Field this November, making it the wettest November on record for San Diego.
Regional collaboration and partnerships are needed to solve cross-border water issues, according to San Diego County Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer.
“The Water Authority is exploring innovative solutions to increase water supply reliability for the San Diego region, but also Baja California and the Southwest,” said Madaffer during today’s opening ceremony of RE:BORDER 2019 at San Diego State University. “Those solutions include the possibility of a transborder water connection that can help both Mexico and the United States.”
Madaffer’s special presentation, “Stewarding a Shared Resource for the Bi-National Region,” was part of the two-day RE:BORDER 2019 conference. It continues Tuesday at the Universidad Autónoma De Baja California in Tijuana.
The theme for the inaugural binational conference is “The Water We Share.” The goal is to forge regional solutions for transborder water issues by breaking down academic, political, and administrative boundaries.
The Tijuana River Watershed covers 1,750 square miles – three-fourths lies in Mexico and includes the cities of Tijuana and Tecate. Graphic: USFWS/Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
In his opening remarks, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, was optimistic about solving Tijuana sewage issues, such as polluted runoff flowing into the Tijuana River causing beach closures in Imperial Beach and Coronado.
“I’ve never seen more momentum than I have in the past six months to solve this cross-border sewage issue,” said Faulconer. “It is a true international issue that we can solve.”
State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel delivered the keynote address at the binational conference “RE:BORDER 2019 at San Diego State University on November 25. Photo: Water Authority
California State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel delivered the keynote address.
“The borders are arbitrary, but we are completely connected,” Esquivel told a crowd of about 200 people in Montezuma Hall. “Infrastructure investments are needed on both sides of the border, and we know with climate change, the entire watershed will be an entirely different place in the future.”
Day 2 sessions in Tijuana will examine how the transborder region will be affected by climate change – including greater risks of floods, landslides and wildfires – how reduced water for agriculture could impact the region, and on-going concerns about uneven access to water resources.
RE:BORDER is a new initiative from San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre that each year will examine a significant issue. The RE:Border 2020 conference is scheduled for November 12 and 13.
San Diego officials announced Friday that they may release water from the Lake Hodges Reservoir near Rancho Bernardo this winter if rainfall pushes the water level above where it is permitted under state regulations.
The California Division of Safety of Dams has determined that the water level in the reservoir should no longer go above 295 feet, which is 20 feet below the spillway elevation — a formal term for the top of the dam.
Parts of Southern California were under a flash flood watch Wednesday as areas of the southwest saw the first significant rainfall of a delayed wet season that fueled wildfires and forced intermittent power cutoffs to millions of residents.
The storm system brought heavy rain to portions of Arizona, and Phoenix could get 2 inches of rain before the storm ends there on Thursday. Prior to this storm, Sky Harbor International Airport had recorded only 3.68 inches for the entire year.
A two-day conference in San Diego and Tijuana seeks to forge regional solutions for cross-border water issues by breaking down academic, political and administrative boundaries.
The theme of RE:BORDER 2019 is “The Water We Share.” RE:BORDER is a new initiative from San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre that each year will examine a significant transborder issue of the California-Baja California border region in partnership with our Mexican university and community collaborators.
The binational conference kicks off at San Diego State University at 9 a.m. on November 25 and continues the next day at the Universidad Autónoma De Baja California (UABC) in Tijuana.
Water industry officials and elected leaders from the U.S. and Mexico will join university researchers for a series of panel discussions that explore how SDSU, UABC, and regional partners – including the San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies – can contribute to innovative solutions for water-related challenges in the transborder region.
RE:BORDER 2019 is a two-day conference in San Diego and Tijuana that seeks to forge regional solutions for cross-border water issues. Graphic: San Diego State University
“When we think about water in every dimension, whether it’s the ocean, to the rivers, to the creeks across the Tijuana River Watershed, there are no borders,” said SDSU President Adela de la Torre. “The conference is a first step toward creating solutions that allow both countries to be collaborative and learn from each other.”
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer will deliver opening remarks at SDSU followed by a special presentation by San Diego County Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer. California State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel is scheduled to deliver the keynote address. State Senator Juan Vargas will close the first day of the conference.
“Water issues and challenges require collaboration on both sides of the border to reach solutions that transcend political boundaries,” said Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer. “The Water Authority and its 24 member agencies continue to develop local projects and explore opportunities that benefit the region, including Mexico and the Southwest.”
The Tijuana River Watershed covers 1,750 square miles – three-fourths lies in Mexico and includes the cities of Tijuana and Tecate. Graphic: USFWS/NOAA/California State Parks/Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
Water reuse, access to a safe water supply, and the political and administrative boundaries in the transborder region are among the topics for discussion at SDSU.
Water Authority Assistant General Manager Dan Denham is one of several panelists who will explore transborder water challenges from the perspectives of regional stakeholders such as farmers, local and state agencies and environmental groups.
Elsa Saxod, a Water Authority board member representing the City of San Diego, will participate in a panel session that looks at the binational management of the Tijuana River Watershed.
Topics for Day 2 of the conference in Tijuana include climate change, water security and risks, water and food, and water and equity.
The sessions will examine how the transborder region will be affected by climate change – including greater risks of floods, landslides and wildfires – how reduced water for agriculture impacts the region, and on-going concerns about uneven access to water resources.
“Tijuana and San Diego form a region closely linked by their economies, societies and culture,” said Natanael Ramírez Angulo, director of the Faculty of Economics and International Relations at UABC. “Understanding the problems and challenges involved in the management and use of water, an essential natural resource, must be a priority not only for governments but also for society itself, and we believe that universities can provide valuable knowledge that can help generate programs and policies that help local and federal governments to be successful in addressing this issue.”
The military sector accounts for more than 20% of the San Diego region’s economy, and that would not be possible without a safe, reliable water supply.
The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies, including Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, provide the water needed for military operations, military families and military contractors.
A new report shows that an estimated total of $28.1 billion in direct spending related to defense flowed into San Diego County during fiscal year 2019, accounting for one-in-five jobs in the region.
The 2019 San Diego Military Economic Impact Study was released Thursday by the San Diego Military Advisory Council, or SDMAC. The military sector was responsible for about 354,000 of the region’s total jobs in fiscal year 2019, accounting for all the ripple effects of defense-connected spending, according to the report.
More than $28 billion in direct defense spending flowed into #SanDiego County during fiscal year 2019.
That spending generates jobs, says @CityofSanDiego Mayor @Kevin_Faulconer pic.twitter.com/1gQIXPY9UU
— San Diego County Water Authority (@sdcwa) October 10, 2019
“Water is a part of everything the military does in San Diego,” said Mark Balmert, SDMAC executive director. “Everything to water for the troops, to washing aircraft and ships after operations – every aspect of what the military does. The military and water agencies have a history together, with the U.S. Navy partly responsible for bringing water to our region.”
Balmert is referring to the time when San Diego became a hub of naval activity after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War I in 1941. The Water Authority formed 75 years ago, when it became clear that imported water supplies were necessary to sustain a booming region at the forefront of the war effort.
Ever since, the Water Authority and its 24 member agencies have played a vital – though often unseen – role in supporting the largest concentration of active and retired military personnel in the world, serving several military bases and sustaining the San Diego region’s defense industry in a region with few natural resources.
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton encompasses more than 125,000 acres of southern California and approximately 52,000 Marines are based in San Diego. Camp Pendleton has been the largest employer in north San Diego County for more than 60 years. Photo: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
“The outlook for the military economy in the region for the coming year is positive,” said Lynn Reaser, chief economist with Point Loma Nazerene University’s Fermanian Business & Economic Institute.
Reaser, who provided oversight and analysis of the SDMAC report, said water is essential for military dollars to continue flowing into the region.
“Water continues to be a major resource that’s required for operations of our defense contractors, for the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Department of Veterans Affairs, everything from support of the bases to water needs of medical facilities,” Reaser said.
The Water Authority is a leader in water conservation, asset management, seawater desalination and water resource planning, delivering more than 400 million gallons a day to serve the region’s 3.3 million residents and sustain its $231 billion economy.
A 2018 study by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. concluded that $482 million a day in regional sales were supported by reliable access to water.
San Diego took several steps this week to boost the accuracy of water bills, improve customer satisfaction and speed up the installation of digital “smart” meters.
The changes come after public outcry in 2017 and 2018 over exorbitant water bills received by many customers which city officials blamed on faulty meters, employee errors and mismanagement in the Public Utilities Department.
Elected leaders from around the San Diego region met with the Trump administration on Tuesday to ask for help stopping the sewage-tainted water that regularly flows in the Tijuana River across the border with Mexico.
Specifically, regional leaders tried to persuade federal authorities to fund a more than $400-million plan to capture and treat the pollution — which has shuttered shorelines in Imperial Beach on more than 200 days this year alone.
It has been a winter – and spring – for the record books, for California reservoirs and ski resorts. And, it’s not over yet.
Snow has continued to fall throughout May, with several inches or more in the Sierra Nevada and the southern California mountains.
In the lowlands, the City of San Diego has experienced one of its wettest months of May on record. The San Diego National Weather Service reported that Alpine and El Cajon set daily precipitation records on May 23.
The normal rainfall at Lindbergh Field during the water year (October 1 – September 30) averages about 10.3 inches. In the current water year, 12.7 inches of rain has been recorded at Lindbergh Field as of May 23.
“It’s atypical to see the snowpack increase in May,” said Alexi Schnell, water resources specialist with the San Diego County Water Authority. “The impact of atmospheric river storms helped push snowpack levels in the northern Sierra to 172 percent of normal as of May 23.”
A bountiful year for snow continued into May in the Sierra Nevada. Graphic: California DWR
Record snowfall also allowed many ski areas, from Squaw Alpine to Mammoth Mountain, to extend their ski seasons into late-Spring, with fresh powder in May a bonus for skiers.
Mammoth Mountain tweeted that it has received 29 inches of snow as of May 23, “officially our snowiest May on record, beating out May 2015.” (Video courtesy of Mammoth Mountain).
Many of the state’s major reservoirs are near capacity and are significantly above their historical averages as of May 23. Lake Shasta is at 97 percent of capacity and at 113 percent of its historical average.
Most major California reservoirs are near capacity and significantly above historical averages for May 23. Graphic: California DWR
Schnell cautions that this current water year is an exception, and the climatological cycle in California can bring several consecutive years of drought, like the 2015-2017 period, which prompted mandatory water-use reductions.
While the winter and spring has been ‘atypical,’ the summer could set some records too.
“Looking ahead over the next three months, the National Weather Service forecast shows that there is a greater than 50 percent chance the region will be warmer than normal,” Schnell said.
NWS Climate Prediction Center three-month temperature outlook. Graphic: NWS/NOAA
