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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPipeline 02 - Spring 2016T H E O TAY WA TER DISTRICT • P R OUDLY SERVING E A ST C OUNT Y A ND TH E S OUTH B A Y SINC E 1956 A NE W SLET TE R FOR CUSTOMER S OF T HE OTAY WATER DISTRICT The Pipeline Newsletter is published quarterly by the Otay Water District and can also be found online at www.otaywater.gov. Copyright © 2016 Otay Water District. All rights reserved. SPRING 2016 FOLLOW OTAY WATER ON... / SIGA AL DISTRITO DE AGUA DE OTAY EN... 2016 WATER SUPPLY UPDATE Improved Supply Conditions Bring Drought Relief Otay customers will get drought relief this year. Water supply conditions have improved in Northern California and the largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere is now in operation in Carlsbad. In response, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has scaled back, but not eliminated, all water conservation requirements across California. While the hoped for “Godzilla El Niño” failed to deliver much needed precipitation to Southern and Central California, ferocious rainstorms drenched the northern part of the state earlier this year. As a result, many Northern California reservoirs are at or near capacity for the first time in many years and the State Water Project has upped its water allocation to Southern California to 60 percent of requests, the highest it has been since 2012. The uneven precipitation, unfortunately, left reservoirs in the central and southern half of the state half-full or less, and communities in the Central Valley and along the Central Coast are still in the “most severe” drought category, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The SWRCB has been monitoring hydrology and water supply conditions, including local water production reports. Their data has shown that the majority of urban water suppliers have successfully responded to mandatory conservation expectations over the last 20 months. Public awareness of drought conditions has expanded and the extraordinary response this past year should lead to continuing conservation. In San Diego County, a new seawater desalination plant began delivering high-quality drinking water to customers in late 2015. The Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is a 50 million gallon per day seawater desalination plant. The facility is able to produce enough water to supply up to 112,000 homes each year, with east Chula Vista residents receiving a large serving of this high-quality drinking water. With improved conditions and public awareness of the drought, the state has lifted mandatory water conservation orders across the state. Following an earlier SWRCB action, and considering the new drought- resilient water supply, the Board of Directors for the Otay Water District expanded landscape irrigation to up to three days per week and up to 15 minutes per irrigation station. Prohibitions that remain in place include permanent bans on hosing off sidewalks or driveways, washing cars with hoses that lack shut-off nozzles, irrigating lawns so that water spills onto adjacent pavement, as well as watering grass in public street medians. State officials continue to stress the uncertainty surrounding next winter’s rainfall and snowpack. They remind us that all Californians should continue to use water wisely in case severe drought conditions return. The eased conservation mandates, however, give customers more flexibility to deep- water trees, to protect investments in landscaping, establish new water- wise planting materials, and maintain erosion or fire-safe buffers in wildland- urban interface areas. For more information on water conservation and landscape irrigation, please visit www.otaywater.gov. ACTUALIZACIÓN DEL SUMINISTRO DE AGUA 2016 El aumento de los suministros de agua trae alivio a la sequía Los clientes del Distrito de Agua de Otay tendrán alivio a la sequía. La condición de los suministros de agua ha mejorado en el norte de California. Además, la planta desalinizadora más grande del hemisferio occidental entró en operación en Carlsbad. En respuesta a todo ello, el Consejo Estatal de Control de Recursos de Agua (SWRCB, por sus siglas en inglés) ha reducido, pero no eliminado, todos los requisitos de conservación de agua en California. El fenómeno esperado “El Niño Godzilla” no trajo suficiente precipitación al centro y sur de California, sin embargo, hubo fuertes tormentas que empaparon la parte norte del estado a principios de este año. Como resultado, muchos reservorios del norte de California han llegado o están llegando al límite de su capacidad por primera vez en muchos años y el Proyecto de Agua Estatal aumentó la asignación de agua al 60 por ciento de las solicitudes en el sur de California, convirtiéndose en la más alta desde el año 2012. Desafortunadamente, las precipitaciones irregulares dejaron los reservorios que se encuentran en la parte central y meridional del estado a la mitad de su capacidad o menos por lo que las comunidades del Valle y la Costa Central todavía están en la categoría de sequía “más severa” de acuerdo con el Monitor de Sequía de los Estados Unidos. El SWRCB ha estado monitoreando las condiciones hidrológicas y los suministros de agua, incluyendo los reportes de producción de agua locales. Los datos muestran que la mayoría de los proveedores de agua urbanos han respondido exitosamente a las expectativas de conservación obligatorias durante los últimos 20 meses. El año pasado aumentó la concientización acerca de las condiciones de la sequía y la respuesta extraordinaria del público lo que nos debería llevar a la conservación continua. En el condado de San Diego, una nueva planta desalinizadora comenzó a proveer agua potable de alta calidad a los clientes a finales de 2015. La Planta Desalinizadora Claude de agua de mar “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad tiene capacidad para producir 50 millones de galones de agua al día. La planta puede generar suficiente agua para abastecer a 112,000 hogares cada año, siendo los residentes del este de Chula Vistalos que reciben una gran porción de esta agua potable de alta calidad. Con la mejora de las condiciones, la conciencia pública sobre la sequía y el nuevo suministro de agua resistente a la sequía, el estado ha disminuido los requisitos de conservación de agua para los hogares y negocios y considerará suspender las órdenes de conservación obligatorias en todo el estado. A raíz de la acción anterior del SWRCB, el Consejo Directivo del Distrito de Agua de Otay aumentó el riego de los jardines a un máximo de tres días a la semana y hasta 15 minutos por estación de riego. Las prohibiciones que permanecen incluyen el lavado de banquetas o entradas; lavado de automóviles con mangueras sin boquillas de cierre; riego de jardines cuando existe derrama de agua en el pavimento adyacente; así como el riego del césped en los camellones de las vías públicas. Las autoridades del estado continúan enfatizando la incertidumbre sobre la lluvia y acumulación de nieve del invierno próximo. Ellos nos recuerdan que todos los habitantes de California debemos utilizar el agua sabiamente en caso de que las condiciones de sequía severa regresen a la región. Sin embargo, la disminución de las ordenes de conservación les dan a los clientes más flexibilidad para realizar el riego profundo de árboles con el fin de proteger la inversión que hicieron en sus jardines, establecer nuevos materiales de uso eficiente de agua, y mantener la erosión o los amortiguadores contra incendios en las áreas de interfaz urbano forestal. Para más información sobre conservación de agua y consejos de riego de jardines por favor visite OTAY WATER DISTRICT – Board of Directors The Board of Directors meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:30 pm in the Board meeting room. The public is encouraged to attend at 2554 Sweetwater Springs Boulevard, Spring Valley, CA. PresidentMitch Thompson, Division 2mthompson@otaywater.gov Vice PresidentJose Lopez, Division 4jlopez@otaywater.gov TreasurerTim Smith, Division 1tsmith@otaywater.gov Board MemberGary Croucher, Division 3gcroucher@otaywater.gov Board MemberMark Robak, Division 5OtayWater@cox.net For more class information and prices visit www.thegarden.org Saturday, July 16, 9:30 – 11:30 am Lessons on Butterfly Gardening (NEW) Former High Tech Elementary teacher Daniel Romo set out to grow a butterfly garden with his students. Together they created a successful monarch waystation that supports threatened species and nature learning. Join Daniel on a tour of the butterfly pavilion and hear stories and information that will inspire you to create your own pollinator habitat. Members Free, Non-Members $10.00 Saturday, July 23, 9:30 – 11:30 am Toss the Turf More Beauty, Less Water, More Fun! Drought conditions are predicted to continue so why not create a beautiful landscape and save water too? Join Jan Tubiolo as she takes you through the step-by-step process of removing or changing out your turf to prepare it for a more water efficient and beautiful landscape! Members Free, Non-Members $10.00 Wednesday, July 27, 5:30 – 7:30 pm Wine & Walk: The Story of Plants Enjoy a summer evening stroll through the beautiful garden trails with Docent Tour Guides and pair it with the perfect glass of wine. In keeping with conservation, bring your favorite wine glass and they will fill it! $5.00 per person Saturday, August 20, 9:30 am – 11:30 am Companion Planting & Community Growing (NEW) Companion planting is a natural way to encourage plant growth, deter pests, attract beneficial bugs and flavor your garden vegetables. Mia Vaughnes, Founder of Good Neighbor Gardens San Diego Urban Sharecrop and a few of her student farmhands will be there to guide you through a hands-on, companion planting, container gardening demonstration workshop. Bring your own square-foot container. Members Free, Non-Members $10.00 Saturday, August 27 9:30 am – 11:30 am Planting Water (NEW) Regenerate your landscape with both “active” and “passive” sustainable planting and water harvesting strategies that can be used on any scale with landscape professionals Communitree Gardens and H2OME. From techniques to modify land contour, and laundry-to-landscape systems, this class will cover a lot of ground. Members Free, Non-Members $10.00 Conserving water doesn’t mean making your trees suffer Follow these tree care tips to help your trees thrive during the spring and summer months: • Deeply and slowly water mature trees 1 – 2 times per month with a soaker hose or drip system extended to the edge of the tree canopy – not at the base of the tree. Use a hose faucet timer (found at hardware stores) to prevent overwatering. • Young trees need 5 gallons of water 2 – 4 times per week. Create a small watering basin with a berm of dirt to direct water toward the roots. • Do not over-prune trees during the spring and summer. Trees should be pruned during the winter months to minimize stressing your trees. • Mulch, Mulch, MULCH! Applying 4 – 6 inches of mulch will help retain moisture, reduce water needs and protect your trees. For more information on tree care, please visit our website at www.otaywater.gov Irrigation Permitted up to Three Days per Week Otay Water District has lifted the two day per week limit on landscape irrigation. Landscape irrigation is permitted up to three days per week, and up to 15 minutes per irrigation station. This also applies when watering with a hose. When watering by hand, an automatic shut-off nozzle on your hose is required. In addition, irrigate before 10:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m. to reduce water loss due to evaporation. Waste and excessive runoff is prohibited. Concerns over Lead in the Public Water Supply Lead in Flint, Michigan’s water supply in has been in the news and is the subject of recent Congressional hearings. You might be wondering, “Could what happened in Flint happen in the Otay Water District?” In Flint, there are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 homes with lead service lines that carry water from Flint’s drinking water system to homes and businesses. Lead service lines were the primary source of high lead levels in Flint’s drinking water. None of Otay’s 730 miles of water mains or service lines are made of lead. In addition, under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule, Otay collects water samples from select customer homes and tests those samples for lead and copper. In the most recent series of tests, lead and copper levels were well below EPA standards and 90 percent of water samples had lead levels below the detection limit of five parts per billion. Tree Care FOR THE Spring & Summer Months Otay Saves Customers $5.6M Through Refinancing Otay Water District is pleased to announce that it has successfully refinanced its 2007 Certificates of Participation (COPs), saving District customers more than $5.6 million. In 2007, the District issued $42 million in COPs to construct reservoirs, pump stations, and pipelines. The outstanding principal on those COPs was $34,760,000. The remaining 2007 COPs had an average coupon rate of 4.28% and matured on September 1, 2036. On April 26, 2016, the District accepted a competitive winning bid from JP Morgan, which effectively refinanced the 2007 COPs at 2.48%. This resulted in debt service savings of $269,721 annually over the life of the 2007 COPs. Finding ways to save money is part of the District’s ongoing commitment to reducing costs and passing those savings on to customers. Otay Water District’s Fiscal Year 2015-16 Operating and Capital Budgets each were awarded the Budget Excellence Award from the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers. It’s the 10th consecutive year the District has received this recognition for the Operating Budget, and the 11th year for the Capital Improvement Program Budget. This is noteworthy because it represents excellence in financial reporting and a longstanding commitment to accountability and transparency. View these award winning documents at www.otaywater.gov/publications. Please Download the Annual Consumer Confidence Drinking Water Report Online at www.otaywater.gov/ConsumerConfidence The water delivered by Otay Water District met all United States Environmental Protection Agency and State Water Resources Control Board drinking water health standards. TO LEARN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER The Otay Water District’s water quality report is now available online at www.otaywater.gov/ConsumerConfidence. You can pick up a paper copy at Otay Water District, 2554 Sweetwater Springs Blvd., Spring Valley, CA 91978-2004, or you can request a paper copy by calling 619-670-2254, or by emailing us at info@otaywater.gov. EL REPORTE ANUAL CONTIENE VALIOSA INFORMACIÓN SOBRE LA CALIDAD DE SU AGUA POTABLE Esta disponible en nuestro sitio de web www.otaywater.gov/ConsumerConfidence. Puede recoger una copia en las oficinas Administrativas de Otay Water District, 2554 Sweetwater Springs Blvd., Spring Valley, CA 91978-2004, o puedo solicitar una copia del reporte llamando al 619-670-2254, o por correo electronico a info@otaywater.gov. www.otaywater.gov YOUR WATER QUALITY REPORT IS NOW AVAILABLE! ConsumerConfidence Report 2016 EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING OTAY WATER DISTRICT – Board of Directors The Board of Directors meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:30 pm in the Board meeting room. The public is encouraged to attend at 2554 Sweetwater Springs Boulevard, Spring Valley, CA. PresidentMitch Thompson, Division 2mthompson@otaywater.gov Vice PresidentJose Lopez, Division 4jlopez@otaywater.gov TreasurerTim Smith, Division 1tsmith@otaywater.gov Board MemberGary Croucher, Division 3gcroucher@otaywater.gov Board MemberMark Robak, Division 5OtayWater@cox.net For more class information and prices visit www.thegarden.org Saturday, July 16, 9:30 – 11:30 am Lessons on Butterfly Gardening (NEW) Former High Tech Elementary teacher Daniel Romo set out to grow a butterfly garden with his students. Together they created a successful monarch waystation that supports threatened species and nature learning. Join Daniel on a tour of the butterfly pavilion and hear stories and information that will inspire you to create your own pollinator habitat. Members Free, Non-Members $10.00 Saturday, July 23, 9:30 – 11:30 am Toss the Turf More Beauty, Less Water, More Fun! Drought conditions are predicted to continue so why not create a beautiful landscape and save water too? Join Jan Tubiolo as she takes you through the step-by-step process of removing or changing out your turf to prepare it for a more water efficient and beautiful landscape! Members Free, Non-Members $10.00 Wednesday, July 27, 5:30 – 7:30 pm Wine & Walk: The Story of Plants Enjoy a summer evening stroll through the beautiful garden trails with Docent Tour Guides and pair it with the perfect glass of wine. In keeping with conservation, bring your favorite wine glass and they will fill it! $5.00 per person Saturday, August 20, 9:30 am – 11:30 am Companion Planting & Community Growing (NEW) Companion planting is a natural way to encourage plant growth, deter pests, attract beneficial bugs and flavor your garden vegetables. Mia Vaughnes, Founder of Good Neighbor Gardens San Diego Urban Sharecrop and a few of her student farmhands will be there to guide you through a hands-on, companion planting, container gardening demonstration workshop. Bring your own square-foot container. Members Free, Non-Members $10.00 Saturday, August 27 9:30 am – 11:30 am Planting Water (NEW) Regenerate your landscape with both “active” and “passive” sustainable planting and water harvesting strategies that can be used on any scale with landscape professionals Communitree Gardens and H2OME. From techniques to modify land contour, and laundry-to-landscape systems, this class will cover a lot of ground. Members Free, Non-Members $10.00 Conserving water doesn’t mean making your trees suffer Follow these tree care tips to help your trees thrive during the spring and summer months: • Deeply and slowly water mature trees 1 – 2 times per month with a soaker hose or drip system extended to the edge of the tree canopy – not at the base of the tree. Use a hose faucet timer (found at hardware stores) to prevent overwatering. • Young trees need 5 gallons of water 2 – 4 times per week. Create a small watering basin with a berm of dirt to direct water toward the roots. • Do not over-prune trees during the spring and summer. Trees should be pruned during the winter months to minimize stressing your trees. • Mulch, Mulch, MULCH! Applying 4 – 6 inches of mulch will help retain moisture, reduce water needs and protect your trees. For more information on tree care, please visit our website at www.otaywater.gov Irrigation Permitted up to Three Days per Week Otay Water District has lifted the two day per week limit on landscape irrigation. Landscape irrigation is permitted up to three days per week, and up to 15 minutes per irrigation station. This also applies when watering with a hose. When watering by hand, an automatic shut-off nozzle on your hose is required. In addition, irrigate before 10:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m. to reduce water loss due to evaporation. Waste and excessive runoff is prohibited. Concerns over Lead in the Public Water Supply Lead in Flint, Michigan’s water supply in has been in the news and is the subject of recent Congressional hearings. You might be wondering, “Could what happened in Flint happen in the Otay Water District?” In Flint, there are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 homes with lead service lines that carry water from Flint’s drinking water system to homes and businesses. Lead service lines were the primary source of high lead levels in Flint’s drinking water. None of Otay’s 730 miles of water mains or service lines are made of lead. In addition, under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule, Otay collects water samples from select customer homes and tests those samples for lead and copper. In the most recent series of tests, lead and copper levels were well below EPA standards and 90 percent of water samples had lead levels below the detection limit of five parts per billion. Tree Care FOR THE Spring & Summer Months Otay Saves Customers $5.6M Through Refinancing Otay Water District is pleased to announce that it has successfully refinanced its 2007 Certificates of Participation (COPs), saving District customers more than $5.6 million. In 2007, the District issued $42 million in COPs to construct reservoirs, pump stations, and pipelines. The outstanding principal on those COPs was $34,760,000. The remaining 2007 COPs had an average coupon rate of 4.28% and matured on September 1, 2036. On April 26, 2016, the District accepted a competitive winning bid from JP Morgan, which effectively refinanced the 2007 COPs at 2.48%. This resulted in debt service savings of $269,721 annually over the life of the 2007 COPs. Finding ways to save money is part of the District’s ongoing commitment to reducing costs and passing those savings on to customers. Otay Water District’s Fiscal Year 2015-16 Operating and Capital Budgets each were awarded the Budget Excellence Award from the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers. It’s the 10th consecutive year the District has received this recognition for the Operating Budget, and the 11th year for the Capital Improvement Program Budget. This is noteworthy because it represents excellence in financial reporting and a longstanding commitment to accountability and transparency. View these award winning documents at www.otaywater.gov/publications. Please Download the Annual Consumer Confidence Drinking Water Report Online at www.otaywater.gov/ConsumerConfidence The water delivered by Otay Water District met all United States Environmental Protection Agency and State Water Resources Control Board drinking water health standards. TO LEARN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER The Otay Water District’s water quality report is now available online at www.otaywater.gov/ConsumerConfidence. You can pick up a paper copy at Otay Water District, 2554 Sweetwater Springs Blvd., Spring Valley, CA 91978-2004, or you can request a paper copy by calling 619-670-2254, or by emailing us at info@otaywater.gov. EL REPORTE ANUAL CONTIENE VALIOSA INFORMACIÓN SOBRE LA CALIDAD DE SU AGUA POTABLE Esta disponible en nuestro sitio de web www.otaywater.gov/ConsumerConfidence. Puede recoger una copia en las oficinas Administrativas de Otay Water District, 2554 Sweetwater Springs Blvd., Spring Valley, CA 91978-2004, o puedo solicitar una copia del reporte llamando al 619-670-2254, o por correo electronico a info@otaywater.gov. www.otaywater.gov YOUR WATER QUALITY REPORT IS NOW AVAILABLE! ConsumerConfidence Report 2016 EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING T H E O TAY WA TER DISTRICT • P R OUDLY SERVING E A ST C OUNT Y A ND TH E S OUTH B AY SINC E 1956 A NE W SLET TE R FOR CUSTOMER S OF T HE OTAY WATER DISTRICT The Pipeline Newsletter is published quarterly by the Otay Water District and can also be found online at www.otaywater.gov. Copyright © 2016 Otay Water District. All rights reserved. SPRING 2016 FOLLOW OTAY WATER ON... / SIGA AL DISTRITO DE AGUA DE OTAY EN... 2016 WATER SUPPLY UPDATE Improved Supply Conditions Bring Drought Relief Otay customers will get drought relief this year. Water supply conditions have improved in Northern California and the largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere is now in operation in Carlsbad. In response, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has scaled back, but not eliminated, all water conservation requirements across California. While the hoped for “Godzilla El Niño” failed to deliver much needed precipitation to Southern and Central California, ferocious rainstorms drenched the northern part of the state earlier this year. As a result, many Northern California reservoirs are at or near capacity for the first time in many years and the State Water Project has upped its water allocation to Southern California to 60 percent of requests, the highest it has been since 2012. The uneven precipitation, unfortunately, left reservoirs in the central and southern half of the state half-full or less, and communities in the Central Valley and along the Central Coast are still in the “most severe” drought category, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The SWRCB has been monitoring hydrology and water supply conditions, including local water production reports. Their data has shown that the majority of urban water suppliers have successfully responded to mandatory conservation expectations over the last 20 months. Public awareness of drought conditions has expanded and the extraordinary response this past year should lead to continuing conservation. In San Diego County, a new seawater desalination plant began delivering high-quality drinking water to customers in late 2015. The Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is a 50 million gallon per day seawater desalination plant. The facility is able to produce enough water to supply up to 112,000 homes each year, with east Chula Vista residents receiving a large serving of this high-quality drinking water. With improved conditions and public awareness of the drought, the state has lifted mandatory water conservation orders across the state. Following an earlier SWRCB action, and considering the new drought- resilient water supply, the Board of Directors for the Otay Water District expanded landscape irrigation to up to three days per week and up to 15 minutes per irrigation station. Prohibitions that remain in place include permanent bans on hosing off sidewalks or driveways, washing cars with hoses that lack shut-off nozzles, irrigating lawns so that water spills onto adjacent pavement, as well as watering grass in public street medians. State officials continue to stress the uncertainty surrounding next winter’s rainfall and snowpack. They remind us that all Californians should continue to use water wisely in case severe drought conditions return. The eased conservation mandates, however, give customers more flexibility to deep- water trees, to protect investments in landscaping, establish new water- wise planting materials, and maintain erosion or fire-safe buffers in wildland- urban interface areas. For more information on water conservation and landscape irrigation, please visit www.otaywater.gov. ACTUALIZACIÓN DEL SUMINISTRO DE AGUA 2016 El aumento de los suministros de agua trae alivio a la sequía Los clientes del Distrito de Agua de Otay tendrán alivio a la sequía. La condición de los suministros de agua ha mejorado en el norte de California. Además, la planta desalinizadora más grande del hemisferio occidental entró en operación en Carlsbad. En respuesta a todo ello, el Consejo Estatal de Control de Recursos de Agua (SWRCB, por sus siglas en inglés) ha reducido, pero no eliminado, todos los requisitos de conservación de agua en California. El fenómeno esperado “El Niño Godzilla” no trajo suficiente precipitación al centro y sur de California, sin embargo, hubo fuertes tormentas que empaparon la parte norte del estado a principios de este año. Como resultado, muchos reservorios del norte de California han llegado o están llegando al límite de su capacidad por primera vez en muchos años y el Proyecto de Agua Estatal aumentó la asignación de agua al 60 por ciento de las solicitudes en el sur de California, convirtiéndose en la más alta desde el año 2012. Desafortunadamente, las precipitaciones irregulares dejaron los reservorios que se encuentran en la parte central y meridional del estado a la mitad de su capacidad o menos por lo que las comunidades del Valle y la Costa Central todavía están en la categoría de sequía “más severa” de acuerdo con el Monitor de Sequía de los Estados Unidos. El SWRCB ha estado monitoreando las condiciones hidrológicas y los suministros de agua, incluyendo los reportes de producción de agua locales. Los datos muestran que la mayoría de los proveedores de agua urbanos han respondido exitosamente a las expectativas de conservación obligatorias durante los últimos 20 meses. El año pasado aumentó la concientización acerca de las condiciones de la sequía y la respuesta extraordinaria del público lo que nos debería llevar a la conservación continua. En el condado de San Diego, una nueva planta desalinizadora comenzó a proveer agua potable de alta calidad a los clientes a finales de 2015. La Planta Desalinizadora Claude de agua de mar “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad tiene capacidad para producir 50 millones de galones de agua al día. La planta puede generar suficiente agua para abastecer a 112,000 hogares cada año, siendo los residentes del este de Chula Vistalos que reciben una gran porción de esta agua potable de alta calidad. Con la mejora de las condiciones, la conciencia pública sobre la sequía y el nuevo suministro de agua resistente a la sequía, el estado ha disminuido los requisitos de conservación de agua para los hogares y negocios y considerará suspender las órdenes de conservación obligatorias en todo el estado. A raíz de la acción anterior del SWRCB, el Consejo Directivo del Distrito de Agua de Otay aumentó el riego de los jardines a un máximo de tres días a la semana y hasta 15 minutos por estación de riego. Las prohibiciones que permanecen incluyen el lavado de banquetas o entradas; lavado de automóviles con mangueras sin boquillas de cierre; riego de jardines cuando existe derrama de agua en el pavimento adyacente; así como el riego del césped en los camellones de las vías públicas. Las autoridades del estado continúan enfatizando la incertidumbre sobre la lluvia y acumulación de nieve del invierno próximo. Ellos nos recuerdan que todos los habitantes de California debemos utilizar el agua sabiamente en caso de que las condiciones de sequía severa regresen a la región. Sin embargo, la disminución de las ordenes de conservación les dan a los clientes más flexibilidad para realizar el riego profundo de árboles con el fin de proteger la inversión que hicieron en sus jardines, establecer nuevos materiales de uso eficiente de agua, y mantener la erosión o los amortiguadores contra incendios en las áreas de interfaz urbano forestal. Para más información sobre conservación de agua y consejos de riego de jardines por favor visite