PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
VOL. 27, NO. 13
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MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
MARCH 29, 2013
A drill rig that burrowed a 1,200-foot test well at the San Elijo Lagoon. With the well, scientists gauged the quality and quantity of groundwater. The rig and well were removed in December, and based on data gleaned, the Olivenhain Municipal Water District continued its commitment to groundwater desalination. Photo by Jared Whitlock
IN BLOOM After a slow start this season the Flower Fields in Carlsbad are coming alive. The slow start has benefits though, with the colors appearing more deep and richer than usual. San Diego residents Jessy Ashton and Erica Wessels are dazzled by the sea of colors. Photo by Daniel Knighton
County lobbies HUD for homeless funds By Rachel Stine
COAST CITIES — San Diego County has the third highest number of homeless people in the country, yet because of an antiquated government formula, it is only eligible to compete for the 18th highest amount of federal funding in the nation for its homeless services. Under the current system, more than a dozen areas with lower homeless populations are able to receive tens of millions of dollars more in funding than the county. Now San Diego officials are starting to take notice and are pushing for revision of how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocates its funds. “Clearly there is a funding imbal-
WHAT’S IN A NAME? Author Sharón Lynn Wyeth talks to budding novelists on why it’s important to find the right names for their characters, and how to do it. B2
ance and we need to change the decades-old, federal funding formula so we provide more transitional housing, rental assistance, shelter assistance and other programs to help the homeless,” said Chairman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors Greg Cox. The HUD reported that San Diego County had an average of more than 10,000 homeless people on a given single night in 2012, according to a report released last November. Only New York City and Los Angeles County had larger homeless populations with averages of more than 56,000 and 42,000 homeless people, respectively, on a given night in 2012, according to the HUD data. San Diego County was eligible to compete for up to $15,707,214 from the
HUD last year to fund homeless services including shelters, interim housing, supportive housing, and rental assistance. Yet the maximum amount of federal funds that the county was eligible for didn’t just fall third to New York City and Los Angeles, but also millions of dollars behind 15 other areas in the country that have thousands of fewer homeless people. By comparison, the city of Chicago reported 6,710 homeless people on a given night, yet was eligible to compete for more than $51 million in funding from the HUD last year. HUD funding is obtained through local bodies known as Continuums of Care (CoC), which coordinate the home-
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OMWD continues pursuit of groundwater By Jared Whitlock
ENCINITAS — The OMWD (Olivenhain Municipal Water District) proved that there is more than a passing interest in groundwater desalination at its board meeting on Wednesday. In fact, the district took another step toward making groundwater a permanent part of its water supply. Last year, OMWD directed scientists to drill a 1,200-foot test well at the San Elijo Lagoon with the aim of finding useable water. Encouraged by the exploratory effort, OMWD is seriously considering installing another well several miles east of the first site. Kim Thorner, general manager of OMWD, and others in the district, will scope out the exact location of the new well, ask for bids from contractors and present a contract for board approval in the next few months. Ultimately, the district’s goal is to reduce its dependence on imported water. “Our board of directors today was clear: we need to diversify our water portfolio, and groundwater could be a big part of that,” said Thorner after the meeting.
OMWD is weighing whether it should build a desalination plant and a series of wells a couple of miles east of the San Elijo Lagoon to produce water for years to come. OMWD estimates that the desalination plant and wells could generate up to 1.5 million gallons of water per day, making up as much as 10 percent of the district’s potable water, and also a chunk of its recycled water. In October, researchers set up a 40foot drill, which loomed over Interstate 5, at the San Elijo Lagoon to tap the first well. All traces of the project were removed once it wrapped up in December. But scientists are still combing over data from the pump test. Specifically, they’re interested in the quality and quantity of the groundwater. To that end, the water was much less salty than originally anticipated. The groundwater’s salinity is around 1,800 parts per million, lower than the estimate of 3,000 parts per million, making treating the water through reverse osmosis cheaper. The well only proTURN TO GROUNDWATER ON A15