News Release
San Diego County Water Authority
News Release: December 18, 2008 |
Contact:
John Liarakos
Office: (858) 522-6703
Cell: (858) 761-2544 |
or
Denise Vedder
Office (858) 522-6709
Cell: (619) 770-8403 |
Water Authority Boosts Conservation Rebate Funding in Response to High
Demand
Board also awards $2 million to local water districts for local water supply
projects
The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors today approved $2.5
million to expand two highly popular conservation incentive programs. The additional
funding will make the programs’ rebates and other water-saving services
available to significantly more residential and commercial water users as the
region continues to cope with drought and court-ordered water supply cutbacks.
The Water Authority’s Smart Landscape Program and High Efficiency Washer
(HEW) rebate program have experienced rapid growth in participation levels.
The residential HEW program, offered in cooperation with San Diego Gas &
Electric, grew from 8,700 incentives redeemed in fiscal year 2007 to 17,500
incentives redeemed in fiscal year 2008. Participation in the Smart Landscape
program also has nearly doubled during calendar year 2008, with program disbursements
growing from an average of about $91,000 a month during the first half of the
year to more $170,000 a month during the second half of 2008.
“Given our water supply challenges, it is critical that we step up our
efforts to motivate more residents, businesses and public agencies to purchase
devices or make landscape changes that will help our region save water,”
said Fern Steiner, chair of the Water Authority Board of Directors.
The Water Authority’s Smart Landscape Program will receive an additional
$1.5 million from today’s board action. The Water Authority and the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California (MWD) will each provide $750,000.
The Smart Landscape Program increases water conservation through a combination
of services. They include landscape surveys and water use audits, incentives
for repairing broken irrigation hardware, and incentives for upgrading to more
efficient irrigation technology, such as weather-based “smart” irrigation
controllers and rotating nozzles. The program also provides landscape grants
for commercial properties, and much of the program’s growth has come from
increasing participation from homeowner associations. Additional information
about the Smart Landscape Program is available at: 20gallonchallenge.com/programs.
The Board approved an allocation of $1.05 million to ensure that HEW incentives
are available until SDG&E receives approval from the Public Utilities Commission
for its energy efficiency programs for the 2009-2011 funding cycle. Under the
existing cooperative agreement, SDG&E provides $50 toward each $185 HEW
incentive redeemed. The balance of the incentive is funded by MWD.
Since 2006, more than 30,000 high efficiency washers have been installed in
homes as a result of the funding partnership between the Water Authority and
SDG&E. Over their lifetime, these HEWs will save more than 12,300 acre-feet
of water. Additional information on the HEW incentive program is available at
www.20gallonchallenge.com/programs.
The Water Authority Board today also approved $2 million in grants to help
eight of its member agencies fund new local water supply development studies
as part of the Water Authority’s Local Investigations and Studies Assistance
(LISA) Program.
“Helping our member agencies find and develop new local water supplies
is vital to improving the reliability of our long-term water supplies,”
Steiner said.
The program provides cost-sharing grants for early local water supply project
development activities including feasibility studies, field investigations,
and environmental studies and documentation. In this round of funding, the board
approved cost-sharing grants of:
- $500,000 for the City of San Diego Pilot Production Wells Investigation,
to complete four pilot wells to evaluate the production potential of three
groundwater basins.
- $512,500 to the Padre Dam Municipal Water District and Helix Water District
El Monte Valley Recharge Project Studies. The grant will provide funding for
environmental documentation, public outreach, aerial photography and base
mapping, preliminary project design, flow equalization and seasonal storage
studies, and other studies necessary for project permits.
- $17,000 to Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District’s Desalination
North/Eastern Conveyance Enhancement Studies, which will expand previous studies
that consider the distribution of desalinated water from the Carlsbad Desalination
Project to North County water agencies.
- $170,500 to Carlsbad Municipal Water District’s Encina Basin Water
Reclamation Program Phase III Project Feasibility Study to identify potable
water customers that can be served with recycled water, and determine feasibility
of expanding the Encina Basin Water Reclamation Facility.
- $500,000 to the City of Oceanside Small Scale Pilot-Demonstration and Feasibility
Study to determine the best location for beach (seawater extraction) wells,
well yield, and groundwater quality; conduct pilot testing of reverse osmosis
membranes; evaluate potential pipeline alignments from wells to the treatment
facility; and identify required project components, construction costs, and
operating costs.
- $25,000 to Santa Fe Irrigation District San Dieguito Reservoir Seepage Recovery
Study to determine volume of seepage passing downstream of the San Dieguito
Reservoir, and to determine feasibility of recovery for irrigation or treatment
to potable water standards at the R.E. Badger Filtration Plant.
- $150,000 to City of Vista/Vista Irrigation District Shadowridge Water Reclamation
Facility Feasibility Study and Preliminary Design Investigation to evaluate
feasibility of constructing a 2 million-gallon-per-day water reclamation facility
at the site of the decommissioned Shadowridge Reclamation Plant in Vista.
- $125,000 to Valley Center Municipal Water District’s Welk Skimming
Plant [Recycled Water] Feasibility Study, Preliminary Design, and Initial
Environmental Studies to identify facilities needed to intercept, treat, and
distribute recycled water to a local golf course currently using potable water
for irrigation.
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The San Diego County Water Authority is a public agency serving the San Diego region as a wholesale supplier of water from the Colorado River and Northern California. The Water Authority works through its 24 member agencies to provide a safe, reliable water supply to support the region’s $163 billion economy and the quality of life of 3 million residents.
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