READER’S EDITORIAL: WHY IS OUR DRINKING WATER BEING SIPHONED OFF BY SDG&E FOR SUNRISE POWERLINK CONSTRUCTION?
An open letter to San Diego's Mayor and City Council
By John Pilch
President, San Carlos Area Council
March 22, 2011 (San Diego) --I'm intrigued by what's happening in the San Carlos Community with respect to water usage. While we're being advised of the continuing Stage 2 Drought Alert, the City of San Diego is selling water from two hydrants on Lake Murray Blvd. West Frontage Road to the contractor who is constructing the Southwest Powerlink.
The 7,500 gallon trucks, bearing the name of Nordic Rental, fill up at one of the hydrants and transport 6,200 gallons each to the SDG&E construction site as far east as Jacumba.
They don't fill completely so as to not have a load problem, per one of the drivers with whom I spoke. SDG&E advised that this is all legal and they have a contract with the City of San Diego. The D-7 Council Office verified this and advised that SDG&E is paying the same price as water customers in the City.
The bottom line is why are citizens conserving water, sometimes to their detriment, while the City of San Diego sells hundreds of thousands of gallons of potable water for the Powerlink Project. The contractor has 6-8 trucks that make at least two trips, and probably more, from the hydrants to the jobsite in the far eastern area of SD County on a daily basis and has been doing so for at least one month. It doesn't make sense, other than to tap into a new source of revenue for the City of SD.
Therefore, I'm formally requesting that the appropriate City Council Committee (LU&H?) conduct an investigation into this sale of potable water and why the recycled water the City produces at the North City site isn't being used instead. The supervisor said it was used for dust abatement at the job site, so why use potable rather than recycled water, especially since the "purple pipe" water is available as far east as Santee?
With SR-52 now open to SR-67, this is a viable solution to keeping San Diego treated water in San Diego. Please acknowledge receipt of this request and provide our community with a complete explanation as to why this is occurring.
The opinions in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. If you wish to submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.