The San Diego County Water Authority has been named a Top Workplace for 2022 by The San Diego Union-Tribune – the second straight year the agency has been recognized. The newspaper’s honor roll is based solely on employee feedback through third-party surveys by Energage LLC, an employee engagement technology firm.
The San Diego County Water Authority has been named a Top Workplace for 2022 by The San Diego Union-Tribune – the second straight year the agency has been recognized. The newspaper’s honor roll is based solely on employee feedback through third-party surveys by Energage LLC, an employee engagement technology firm.
“Everyone in San Diego County benefits from the Water Authority’s work to ensure water supply reliability – but what they don’t see is all the work behind the scenes to develop a top-tier workforce capable of serving this region,” said Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz. “Creating a culture that fosters collaboration, cultivates community and strives for excellence helps to ensure we are ready to tackle the complexities and uncertainties inherent in water management.”
Energage performs anonymous surveys of employees in participating workplaces, measuring 15 culture drivers deemed critical to organizational success, including alignment, execution, and connection.
“Earning a Top Workplaces award is a badge of honor for companies, especially because it comes authentically from their employees,” said Energage CEO Eric Rubino. “That’s something to be proud of. In today’s market, leaders must ensure they’re allowing employees to have a voice and be heard. That’s paramount. Top Workplaces do this, and it pays dividends.”
The Water Authority was recognized as a 2022 Top Workplace in the category for best mid-size companies. The agency sustains a $240 billion regional economy and the quality of life for 3.3 million residents through a multi-decade water supply diversification plan, major infrastructure investments and forward-thinking policies that promote fiscal and environmental responsibility.
“This Top Workplace award is a reflection of Water Authority employees who not only bring industry-leading expertise but also creativity, compassion, dedication, and resilience,” said Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl. “In this season of Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for colleagues that contribute so much to our region.”
Kerl commissioned the first employee survey in the agency’s history in 2019 as a starting point for her larger effort to integrate different generations of employees, embrace the diversity of the agency’s workforce and empower all employees to reach their full potential.
She attributes the agency’s evolving culture is a direct result of ongoing engagement with employees at all levels of the organization. A critical part of this effort has been working with employees to identify seven shared values that define the agency at its best. Those values include cultivating community, promoting collaboration, striving for excellence, and creating lasting solutions.
“As we enter what is likely to be a fourth straight year of extreme drought, the demands on the Water Authority and other water agencies will be significant,” Kerl said. “It’s also clear that this staff will rise to the challenge.”
With more than 1,000 water and wastewater jobs expected to open across San Diego County in coming years, the industry offers many promising opportunities. For water and wastewater job postings across the region, go to www.sandiegowaterworks.org.
A vacant, city-owned industrial building could become a hub for new businesses in the field of agricultural technology under a proposal now being explored by Escondido officials.
The idea is to turn the empty building at 455 N. Quince St. — most recently used as a mattress factory and warehouse — into an incubator where researchers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists could come together to hatch new companies that would serve North County’s agriculture industry.
Internationally, the polar bear may be the climate-change canary in a coal mine.
Locally, it could be the avocado.
The fruit so identified with San Diego County agriculture has been on the decline for years. Severe weather, water availability and rising water prices — at least in part attributed to climate change — have reduced the yield of the crop and the revenue it generates.
As California’s drought deepens, Elaine Moore’s family is running out of an increasingly precious resource: water.
The Central Valley almond growers had two wells go dry this summer. Two of her adult children are now getting water from a new well the family drilled after the old one went dry last year. She’s even supplying water to a neighbor whose well dried up.
“It’s been so dry this last year. We didn’t get much rain. We didn’t get much snowpack,” Moore said, standing next to a dry well on her property in Chowchilla, California. “Everybody’s very careful with what water they’re using. In fact, my granddaughter is emptying the kids’ little pool to flush the toilets.”
The revised and more aggressive climate action plan San Diego adopted this month commits officials to creating 700 acres of marshland across the city, more than triple the 220 acres of new marshland Mayor Todd Gloria had previously promised in northeastern Mission Bay.
The revised climate action plan prioritizes new marsh areas — sometimes called wetlands — because they serve the dual purpose of removing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide from the air and fighting sea-level rise by acting as a coastal sponge.
“The shadows sway and seem to say/ ‘Tonight we pray for water, cool water’/ And way up there He’ll hear our prayer/ And show us where there’s water, cool, clear, water.” Sons of the Pioneers, singing Bob Nolan’s “Cool Water” in 1941.
Eighty-one years later, the “show us where there’s water” prayer remains.
Every year, Imperial Beach residents board up their windows and shovel ocean sand off streets left underwater during high tide.
Researchers have been testing technology that warns the city in time to prepare for the arrival of powerful waves and, most recently, digging groundwater wells to track flooding.
The community can also play a significant role in reducing Imperial Beach’s flooding problems, researchers at San Diego State University said last week. How residents can get involved is what the researchers are hoping to find out.
The National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds named the Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve its Park of the Year in the Large Park category for its guest experience and overall excellence.
The association, or ARVC, also recognized Santee Lakes as a “Plan-It Green Friendly Park of the Year” for its environmentally-friendly practices across all park operations and its commitment to sustainability. Judges make their decision based on several criteria: guest experiences, all-around excellence in operations, professionalism, marketing, customer service, and industry involvement.
Both awards were presented at the 2021 Outdoor Hospitality Conference & Expo. Park Director Laura Koval accepted the awards in person on behalf of Santee Lakes.
“Despite the numerous challenges we faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Santee Lakes still managed to embrace our family-friendly camping culture and create a much-needed respite from stressors in the world,” said Koval. “As one guest said, “First campground I’ve been to in a while that feels like home.”
Santee Lakes Park Director Laura Koval accepted the awards in person on behalf of Santee Lakes. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water District
“The ARVC Park of the Year Awards showcase excellence at so many levels, and Santee Lakes is a shining star reaching the highest level of recognition,” said ARVC President and CEO Paul Bambei. “To win both Park of the Year and Plan-It Green Park of the Year in 2021 is quite an accomplishment, and it shows the high level of excellence Santee Lakes provides its customers, employees, and community.”
In addition to its most recent honors, Santee Lakes was also named to The San Diego Union-Tribune’s “Best 2021” reader poll in the categories Staycation Location, Scenic Spot, San Diego Attraction, Entertainment Venue, Place to Get Married, and Hiking Trail. It also won “Favorite Place” from the Santee Chamber of Commerce and San Diego’s Reader’s Poll as one of its “Favorite Places to Get Married.”
Fishing remains among the favorite activities. Santee Lakes was recently stocked with rainbow trout for the winter season. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water District
Santee Lakes celebrates 60 years of operation in 2021. In 1959, the Santee County Water District, now the Padre Dam Municipal Water District, initiated a then-unique project of recycling wastewater for irrigation and commercial uses. As part of the treatment process, a chain of seven individual lakes was developed. Boating and fishing were authorized in 1961, and Santee Lakes opened to the public.
Today, Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve hosts over 760,000 visitors annually. The 190-acre park’s lakes are stocked with fish year-round, most recently on December 17. Other amenities include camping, cabin rentals, fishing, boating, playgrounds, walking trails, facility rentals, special events, and approximately 230 bird species.
The park is owned and operated by Padre Dam Municipal Water District. However, it is self-sustaining and receives no funds from water or wastewater ratepayers. The Park operates from guest user fees, grants and awards, collaborations with community groups, and sponsorships.
“We are humbled to receive these honors, especially during the year of our 60th anniversary,” said Koval. “The staff has worked tirelessly to maintain Santee Lakes as an environmentally sustainable and premier destination. These awards will be cherished for many years to come.”
(Editor’s note: The Padre Dam Municipal Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
Millions of gallons of polluted water have been regularly flowing over the border through the Tijuana River for months. The southern shoreline in Imperial Beach has been closed since November as a result.
“Things have gotten worse than ever,” said Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina. “Over the last three months, the levels of pollution are astronomical. We’ve never seen anything like it.”
Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey could not immediately be reached for comment.
