Submitted by Clare Sandke
I was born and raised here in Coronado by Tami and Bill Sandke, but I never thought of where our water came from until I left home to attend Smith College in Massachusetts. At Smith, I took a class about the global water crisis and extensively researched San Diego’s water history.
Even though California appears “in the clear” post-drought, we still have to deal with the longer-term sustainability issues. Part of being a citizen is being aware and knowledgeable about where you reside.
To successfully combat drought and to provide our cherished island with clean and tasty water we have to know the history of San Diego’s water struggle and all the pieces of legislation that got us there. San Diego currently gets its water from several sources. We rely heavily on the Metropolitan Water District and the Imperial Irrigation District Transfer related to our region funding canal linings. About 79% of our total water is coming from Northern California or the desert of eastern California which is very expensive and burdened with heavy transportation costs. Yes, water is a renewable resource. However, at the scale with which humans today are utilizing it, we need to find reusable and consequently more responsible ways of using our water. Right now only 5% of all water in San Diego County is recycled water. The proposed Pure Water program in San Diego will make great strides in local supply.
The question is how can Coronado help? How can we be responsible with our water usage? The city council recently voted to spend money on an initial study looking into building a wastewater recycling plant for the golf course. Excess irrigation water can be plumbed to our parks and medians. I believe that is money well spent. To be responsible and water conscious citizens we must look into ways to reduce our water consumption and a good way to do that is to use recycled water to keep our golf course, parks, and medians green.
Clare Sandke, CHS Class of 2015
