Borrego Sun - Since 1949

At its meeting on February 13th, the Borrego Water District Board discussed plans for Town Hall 2024. The annual event is held to provide information to the public on the wide array of water issues facing Borrego. This year’s event is tentatively scheduled for April 3 at 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the County Library Meeting Room. The emphasis for this years topics include, BWD Year in Review, Analysis of Basin Water Quality as well as updates from all of the Proposition 68 Grant funded projects.

A summary of each Projects follows:

BWD Waste Water Treatment Plant Monitoring Wells: New Monitoring wells have been installed around perimeter of the WWTP Percolation ponds to monitor the impacts of the ponds on Basin water quality.

BWD Automated Metering Infrastructure: New water meters will be installed on all BWD customer accounts that will monitor each for unexpected increases in usage. Information will be fed to BWD computers throughout the day and if any sudden increases occur, the Customer can be notified. Under the current system of monthly meter readings, any unexpected increases in usage are not realized until the meter is read every month, and at that point, thousands of gallons can be wasted before a problem is noticed. The system is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Borrego Springs School District: Educational Programs: Educate youth around water issues and challenges pertinent to the Basin from historical times to the present Stipulated Judgment.

Borrego Valley Stewardship Council: A series of lectures to educate the community on the unique characteristics of Borrego Springs to educate community members for supporting input towards a future vision of Borrego Springs. The lecture will be recorded so that all can access it through the BVSC website to help increase access to knowledge about the community. The intent of this piece would be to bring greater understanding of the role of the Water Master Board by hearing from each Pumping Sector as well as the other Water Master Directors and alternates on their role in reaching Basin sustainability.

University of California Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems: A GDE Monitoring Program has been commissioned to determine if the habitat is still relying upon Groundwater for its survival.

Borrego Springs Basin Watermaster Fallowed Farmlands: Characterize historical and current conditions; explore the feasibility of various biological restoration/rehabilitation techniques; and develop guidance for future biological restoration projects on current and future fallowed lands within the Subbasin. The goals of restoration/rehabilitation are: reduce water consumption; manage airborne dust emissions; increase natural biodiversity and habitat value; and maintain or enhance values pertinent to the Anza Borrego State Park and the residents of Borrego Springs.

Borrego Springs Basin Watermaster Monitoring, Reporting, and GMP Update for Sustainable Management in the Borrego Springs Subbasin is a comprehensive monitoring, analysis, data management and reporting program that will ensure the effective implementation of the pumping rampdown, including filling data gaps identified in the Judgment and GMP, and performing the required redetermination of the Sustainable Yield and GMP update due in 2025.