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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPipeline 01 - Winter 2025T H E O T AY W ATER DISTRICT • P R OUDLY SERVING E A ST C OUNT Y AND TH E S OUTH B A Y SINC E 1956 A NE W SLETTE R FOR CUSTOMERS OF T HE O TAY WATER DISTRICT WINTER 2025 Dedicated to Community Service FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE OTAY WATER DISTRICT CALL (619) 670-2222 OR GO TO OTAYWATER.GOV The Pipeline Newsletter is published quartely by the Otay Water District and can also be found online at otaywater.gov. Copywright ©2021 Otay Water District. All rights reserved. Prepared for the Unexpected: Otay Water District’s Emergency Readiness Emergencies such as fires, severe weather, and water supply disruptions can impact communities at any time. The Otay Water District is committed to ensuring reliable water service during critical situations and supporting residents and first responders. The recent Los Angeles fires have sparked conversation and concern among residents in San Diego County and the District’s service area. Although not as massive as the L.A. fires, the Border 2 Fire on Otay Mountain, burning more than 6,600 acres, highlighted the importance of emergency preparedness. Fortunately, Otay’s infrastructure remained safe as staff closely monitored the situation. Thanks to coordinated efforts from local agencies, the fire was contained, demonstrating the power of regional collaboration. Agencies worked closely to provide resources and keep residents and businesses informed. For decades, the San Diego region has invested in its water supplies, giving firefighters a reliable source for combating fires. However, extreme weather and dry conditions have been linked to a significant increase in the risk and severity of wildfires. Like many California water utilities, the District’s water infrastructure is designed to meet daily demands and support urban firefighting efforts, but extreme wildfires pose unique challenges. Expanding water systems to sustain days-long firefighting efforts would compromise water quality and significantly increase costs. Instead, regional water agencies work together to shift resources where needed most during emergencies. To enhance emergency readiness, the District: • maintains a robust emergency operations plan. • monitors water quality and maximizes storage capacity. • operates generators at critical sites. • maintains over 6,400 fire hydrants, with 1,500 in high-risk fire zones. • uses perimeter sprinkler systems to protect key facilities. • collaborates with regional agencies for emergency response. • implements redundancy systems as backups in case of failures. District staff remains on high alert during emergencies, working with SDG&E, the San Diego County Water Authority, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and other key agencies to monitor and respond effectively and quickly. To date, the District has successfully maintained water availability for firefighting efforts. By staying proactive, the District ensures water reliability – rain or shine, crisis or calm. Follow us on social media @otaywater for District news and emergency updates. CAL FIRE San Diego County at its training site located at Otay Water District’s Regulatory Site in Rancho San Diego. On the right is a District pump station, which pumps water from tanks to higher elevations, allowing gravity to distribute water to customers. Chula Vista Students Win Water-Focused Art Contest Congratulations to Thurgood Marshall Elementary School students Elias Mendoza, Clarissa Haret, Ava Fabunan, and Colin Walters, the winners of Otay’s “2024 Being Water Wise is… Student Poster Contest.” The annual program invites students to creatively interpret what it means to be water-wise, hoping to inspire them to adopt water-efficient habits for years to come. In addition to Otay’s contest, Ava Fabunan won the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s regional art contest. Her artwork is featured in MWD’s 2025 Student Art Calendar. See all the winning posters from across Southern California water agencies at mwdh2o.com/education-landing-page/outreach-programs. Printed calendars are available to Otay customers (while supplies last) at 2554 Sweetwater Springs Blvd., Spring Valley. “I thought that by making a character talking about how to conserve water, it would really inspire kids of all ages,” said Fabunan. See Otay’s winning posters at otaywater.gov/poster-contest-winners-2024. Report Water Waste as it Happens! Report water waste any time of the day by calling (619) 670–2207, online at otaywater.gov/report-water-waste, or through the Otay app “Make Every Drop Count” using your mobile or tablet. Rebate Spotlight: Landscape Efficiency Value Enhancement Solutions Programs The San Diego County Water Authority’s LEAVES program offers rebates on water-efficient devices for commercial landscapes, helping them comply with new state laws while increasing their beauty. Visit otaywater.gov/ conservation- programs. Apply for the WaterSmart Landscape Contest! Deadline is May 9 Let your drought-tolerant landscape inspire others by entering this year’s WaterSmart Landscape Contest for a chance to win prizes, including a $250 gift card to a plant nursery of your choice! Visit otaywater.gov/landscape-contest. Make Your Home Fire-Safe Recent weather conditions in the San Diego region have emphasized the im- portance of protecting homes from fires. Customers should consider making their homes more defensible by assessing the surrounding areas, trimming overgrown vegetation, and clearing debris to mini- mize potential damage if the wind carries embers into the area. Ways to safeguard your home from fire: • Clean gutters, roofs, lawns of needles and leaves. • Regularly trim tree canopies to remove dead wood.• Trim tree branches at least 10 feet from your chimney and any hanging over your property. • Remove lower tree limbs to reduce the risk of a vertical fire ladder.• Space plants and shrubs horizontally and vertically to prevent fire spread.• Cut annual grass to a maximum height of 4 inches. • Remove dead material and thin vegeta-tion seasonally. • Use fire-resistant plants. During high temperatures, please take precautions and avoid turning on equip- ment like brush cutters, as it could spark a fire. Visit alertsandiego.org and select the “Wildfire” option for a list of fire-resistant and nonfire-resistant plants, defensible space guidelines, and additional informa- tion on fire preparedness. Sources: County of San Diego – Planning Development Services County of San Diego – AlertSanDiego.org Artwork by Ava Fabunan Nan StermanWaterwise Gardener Fruit Tree Triage You may expect gardening to slow down in winter, but in our region, winter is the busiest gardening season. This is when we plant trees and shrubs, grow greens, and care for peach trees, plum trees, apple trees, apricot trees, and other deciduous fruit trees. In the shorter days and cooler air, deciduous trees and shrubs drop their leaves and “go to sleep.” This dormancy is our perfect opportunity to prune and spray, especially important for stone fruit trees (plums, nectarines, etc.), apples, and pears. We also prune other deciduous fruit trees like fig and pomegranate now, but they don’t need to be sprayed. Deciding what to do and when for deciduous fruit trees can be confusing. Here are the basics: PruneIn summer, prune to keep trees short so they’re easy to care for and fruits are easy to reach. Winter pruning focuses on tree shape, health, and fruit production. Start by stripping away any old leaves clinging to the branches. Run your hand along each branch from tip to base; the leaves will drop right off. Those leaves are likely infected with fungus and pathogens. Left through winter, they will reinfect the tree next spring (think “peach leaf curl”). Don’t compost them. Don’t use them as mulch. Instead, rake the leaves and send them off in your green waste bin. Next, cut off dead, dying, diseased, and misdirected branches. Use your fingernail to scratch the outer bark of any branches in question. Live branches are green under the bark; dead ones are brown. Cut off the dead branches. Misdirected branches are those that rub against each other or point to the center. Remove the center pointing branches, the least desirable of the rubbing pairs, and the branches pointing straight up to the sky. Next, focus on each tree’s overall shape. For stone fruits like peaches and pluots, aim to create a vase or open funnel shape. Apples and pears need a central “leader” stem in addition to side branches. Detail pruning comes next. Each kind of fruit tree (peaches, plums, figs, pomegranate apples, etc.) fruits on a different part of the branches. Apples, for example, bloom and fruit on short spurs that grow along branches. Pluots and apricots bloom and fruit on spurs and along the branches. Pomegranates bloom and fruit at the branch tips. Know where the fruits form before you cut. If your fruit tree(s) didn’t produce last year, you may have likely cut off the fruiting wood. If it’s too much to remember, get a copy of my favorite reference, How to Prune Fruit Trees and Roses by R. Sanford Martin. SpraySpraying is one of the most important tasks for stone fruits, apples, and pears. Sprays kill aphids, scale, downy mildew, fireblight, peach leaf curl,other fungi, bacteria, and insect eggs that overwinter in bark and buds. Spray also kills deadly tree borers, which are a huge issue in our region. • Use horticultural oil to kill critters and pathogens by suffocat-ing them. My favorite brand is Monterey Hor-ticultural Oil, an organic product that is easy to use. DO NOT use Neem. • Use a fungicide to target peach leaf curl, powdery mildew, and other fungal diseases. Liqui-Cop™ copper fungicide and Daconil™ fungicide are the most effective. Spray trees with each product three times, two weeks apart, before flower buds start to swell in the spring. Be sure to wear disposable gloves, goggles, long sleeves, long pants, and a mask. When you spray, cover all the bark on all surfaces. Trees should be dripping wet by the time you finish. Follow all label directions. After years of using manual pump sprayers, I now rely on my Ryobi battery-powered sprayer. What was once a two-day process now takes two hours, including cleanup! Once buds swell, stop spraying. IrrigationThe best time to upgrade or improve fruit tree irrigation systems is when the trees are dormant. If your deciduous stone fruits, apples and/or pears are irrigated in the same zone (or valve) as citrus, avocado, or other garden plants, that’s a problem. They all have very different irrigation needs, so make it a point to separate them. New valves require new below-ground pipes. That may sound overwhelming, but to a professional, it’s a straightforward project. After installing the new valves, replace bubblers, individual drip emitters, soaker hoses, or overhead sprinklers with inline drip irrigation. Inline drip is the most efficient and effective irrigation for fruit trees (and all other plants). Use inline drip to encircle each trunk with a series of concentric rings, starting about 10 inches out from the trunk and adding more circles every 12 inches, ending a foot past the edge of the canopy. FertilizeWhen new leaves and flowers emerge in the spring, feed fruit trees with all-purpose fruit tree fertilizer. Granular or liquid organic formulations are best (don’t bother with spikes or foliar sprays). Always follow label directions. MulchAlways cover the soil with a 3- to 4-inch-thick layer of coarse wood mulch. Mulch holds moisture in the ground, feeds the soil microbes that keep plants healthy, and improves soil structure. To learn more about selecting and caring for fruit trees and shrubs, watch Incredible! Edible Waterwise Fruit Trees and Shrubs at bit.ly/IncredibleEdibleWebinar. Nan Sterman is a garden expert, author, designer, and educator. Nan leads international garden tours, is the author of several books, and hosts the show A Growing Passion on KPBS TV, waterwisegardener.comRead more by Nan Sterman at otaywater.gov/waterwise-gardener FOLLOW OTAY WATER ON... / SIGA AL DISTRITO DE AGUA DE OTAY EN... OTAY WATER DISTRICT – Board of Directors The Board of Directors meets the first Wednesday of the month at 3:30 p.m. in the board meeting room at 2554 Sweetwater Springs Boulevard, Spring Valley, CA 91978. The public is encouraged to attend or watch the live stream at otaywater.gov. PresidentJose Lopez, Division 4jlopez@otaywater.gov Vice PresidentGary Croucher, Division 3gcroucher@otaywater.gov TreasurerFrancisco X. Rivera, Division 1frivera@otaywater.gov Board MemberDelfina Gonzalez, Division 2dgonzalez@otaywater.gov Board MemberMark Robak, Division 5mrobak@otaywater.gov FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE OTAY WATER DISTRICT CALL (619) 670-2222 OR GO TO OTAYWATER.GOV The Pipeline Newsletter is published quartely by the Otay Water District and can also be found online at otaywater.gov. Copywright ©2021 Otay Water District. All rights reserved. El Distrito de Agua de Otay: Preparados en caso de emergencia Las emergencias como incendios, severas condiciones climáticas e interrupciones en el suministro de agua pueden afectar a las comunidades en cualquier momento. El Distrito de Agua de Otay se compromete a garantizar un servicio de agua confiable durante situaciones críticas y a brindar apoyo a los residentes y al personal de emergencia. Los recientes incendios de Los Ángeles han generado conversaciones y preocupación entre los residentes del área de servicio del Distrito de Agua de Otay y del condado de San Diego. El incendio Border 2 en la montaña Otay (aunque no fue tan masivo como los incendios de Los Ángeles) que quemó más de 6,600 acres, resaltó lo importante que es estar preparados en casos de emergencias. Afortunadamente, la infraestructura de Otay se mantuvo segura mientras el personal monitoreaba cuidadosamente la situación. Gracias a los esfuerzos coordinados de las agencias locales el incendio fue contenido, lo que demuestra el poder de la colaboración regional. Las agencias trabajaron en estrecha colaboración para proporcionar recursos y mantener informados a los residentes y las empresas. Durante varias décadas, la región de San Diego ha invertido en sus propios suministros de agua. Esto les ha proporcionado a los bomberos una fuente confiable de agua para combatir los incendios. Sin embargo, tanto el clima extremo como las condiciones secas han generado un aumento significativo del riesgo y severidad de los incendios forestales. Al igual que muchas agencias de agua de California, la infraestructura hídrica del Distrito está diseñada para satisfacer las demandas diarias y apoyar los esfuerzos de extinción de incendios urbanos, sin embargo, los incendios forestales extremos presentan desafíos únicos. Incrementar los sistemas de agua para mantener los esfuerzos de extinción de incendios durante varios días comprometería la calidad del agua y aumentaría significativamente los costos. En cambio, las agencias regionales de agua trabajan juntas para mover los recursos donde más se necesitan durante las emergencias. Para aumentar la capacidad en materia de preparación en caso de emergencias, el Distrito: • mantiene un plan de operaciones de emergencia robusto. • monitorea cuidadosamente la calidad del agua y maximiza la capacidad de almacenamiento. • opera generadores en sitios críticos. • mantiene más de 6,400 hidrantes (1,500 de ellos en zonas de alto riesgo de incendio). • utiliza sistemas de rociadores perimetrales para proteger instalaciones clave. • colabora con agencias regionales para responder en caso de emergencia. • implementa sistemas redundantes como respaldo en caso de fallas. El personal del Distrito permanece en alerta máxima durante las emergencias, ya sea trabajando con SDG&E, la San Diego County Water Authority, el Distrito Metropolitano del Agua del Sur de California, y otras agencias clave para monitorear y responder de manera eficaz y rápida. Hasta la fecha, la disponibilidad del agua para la extinción de incendios se ha mantenido fiable por parte del Distrito. Al tomar medidas proactivas el Distrito garantiza la fiabilidad del agua, llueve o truene, en crisis o en calma. Síganos en las redes sociales @otaywater para obtener información y noticias del Distrito, así como actualizaciones en caso de emergencia. CAL FIRE del Condado de San Diego en su lugar de entrenamiento ubicado en el Sitio Regulatorio del Distrito de Agua de Otay en Rancho San Diego. Lado derecho: Estación del Distrito que bombea agua desde tanques a elevaciones más altas para que con la ayuda de la gravedad el agua fluya hacia abajo.