Daily Business Report-March 20, 2017
Water will flow back and forth between Hodges and Olivenhain Reservoirs within this 10-foot diameter steel pipe. The pipe’s epoxy coat protects the steel pipe from internal corrosion. In total, 148 sections of pipe were used.
San Diego Water Project Beats
NYC World Trade Center
for Top Engineering Prize
The San Diego County Water Authority’s $1.5 billion Emergency & Carryover Storage Project, built to protect the region from droughts and catastrophic disruptions to imported water supplies, has won one of the engineering industry’s most prestigious global awards — the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The association announced the awards at its 2017 Outstanding Projects and Leaders awards event in Arlington, Va. Other finalists for the award included: One World Trade Center in New York City; Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2 in Mumbai, India; Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in New Haven, Conn.; and the Union Station to Oak Cliff Dallas Streetcar Project in Dallas, Texas.
“We’re proud to receive this distinguished recognition of the world-class infrastructure that our ratepayers have invested in over the last 25 years,” said Water Authority Board Chair Mark Muir. “It’s allowed us to put more water into local storage, even as the state grappled with devastating drought conditions for the past several years. This system will continue to enhance the reliability of our region’s water supplies for generations to come, protecting residents and businesses from supply disruptions caused by natural disasters or the return of prolonged dry periods. This award is a testament to the drive of our Board, management, engineers and project teams to build a project that delivers these benefits with the highest levels of engineering excellence.”
The Emergency & Carryover Storage Project, begun in 1992, comprises several large dams, reservoirs, pump stations, pipelines and tunnels. The $1.5 billion system is designed to ensure up to six months of local supplies are available and can be moved around the region after an emergency, such as an earthquake that damages the large-scale pipelines delivering imported water into the region. The project also added 100,000 acre-feet of local “carryover” storage – water stored during wet years to help meet demands in dry years. Overall it is one of the nation’s largest and most innovative infrastructure improvement projects, adding 196,000 acre-feet of locally available water storage. Major construction of the projects was completed in 2014. (An acre-foot is approximately 325,900 gallons, enough to supply two single-family households of four for a year.)
“Anticipating problems and finding solutions is at the heart of a civil engineer’s work,” said Norma Jean Mattei, ASCE’s 2017 President. “The Water Authority planned for the future, making an investment that ensures the public’s health, safety and welfare in case of disaster.”
Major elements of the Emergency and Carryover Storage Project include:
- Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir, Pipeline and Pump Station. The project included construction of a 318-foot-tall dam that added 24,000 acre-feet of emergency water storage. (Completed in 2003).
- Lake Hodges Pipeline and Pump Station. The pipeline connected Olivenhain Reservoir to Lake Hodges, providing access to 20,000 acre-feet of emergency water in Lake Hodges. The pump station generates power and moves water between the reservoirs. (Pipeline completed in 2007; pump station completed and operational in 2013).
- San Vicente Pipeline and Pump Station. The 11-mile, 12-foot-diameter tunnel and 8.5-foot-diameter pipeline connected San Vicente Reservoir to the Water Authority’s Second Aqueduct, and the pump station moves the water from the reservoir to the aqueduct. (Pump station completed in 2010; pipeline completed in 2011).
- San Vicente Dam Raise. This project, the tallest dam raise in the nation, raised the dam by 117 feet, creating 52,100 acre-feet of emergency water storage capacity and 100,000 acre-feet of carryover storage capacity. (Completed in 2014)
The Water Authority already has used the additional storage capacity to enhance the reliability of the region’s water supply, storing more than 100,000 acre-feet of water conserved during the recent drought in San Vicente Reservoir. (The reservoir is owned and managed by the city of San Diego.) These supplies, along with supplies from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, helped the region pass the state’s stringent water supply “stress test” in 2016, eliminating emergency state-mandated water-use reductions for the region.
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As Mission Valley Macy’s Closes
for Good, No New Tenant Announced
Westfield Mission Valley’s Macy’s apparel store, which opened as a May Company in 1961, officially closed its doors Sunday night, and the 385,000-square-foot three-level building will remain dark indefinitely.
Westfield spokeswoman Katy Dickey told The San Diego Union-Tribune there are no announcements of a new tenant.
“We continue to evaluate a range of new opportunities for the building with the aim of introducing new elements, energy and choices for our customers,” she told the U-T.
A second Macy’s store at Westfield Mission Valley that offers home furnishings will remain open, and nearby Macy’s at Fashion Valley is also keeping its lights on.
The shuttering of Macy’s in Mission Valley is a reminder of the building’s presence in San Diego: The city’s Historic Resources Board marked it as a historical modernist site last year.
Macy’s, which took over the May chain, sold the building to Westfield in March 2016 for $16.5 million, according to the U-T.
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Wende Crowley — Dare to Dream
Senior vice president of film and TV
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Wende Crowley and her team are responsible for placing and licensing music in film, television and video games. When Crowley was in college, her friends told her that putting songs in movies and television shows wasn’t a job. She’s glad they were wrong. Wendy will share with you how she took a dream and dared to make it happen.
That will be at the Dare to Dream event, part of San Diego Women’s Week, on Wednesday at Sony Electronics Inc., 16535 Via Esprillo, San Diego.
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Cabrillo National Monument Hosting
Open Tower Day on Wednesday
The public will be given the rare opportunity to climb to the top of the tower of the Old Point Loma Lighthouse on Wednesday as Cabrillo National Monument commemorates the 126th anniversary of the extinguishing of the tower light.
The Old Point Loma Lighthouse will be open to the top of the tower from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Visitors will be able to climb the 31 stairs to the top and take in the spectacular views. Because space in the historic lighthouse is limited, groups of 10 at a time are guided to the top (visitors must meet a minimum height requirement to visit the top platform). To protect the lens, no bags will be permitted. Storage will be offered at no charge to the public. There will be activities hosted at the base of the lighthouse by Cabrillo Artist in Residence alumni Anne Chaitin. Living history volunteers in period dress will bring the 19th century to life with stories, music, costumes and props. The restored Command Bunker will be open and staffed with living history volunteers as well.
The Cabrillo National Monument Foundation will sell books, films, postcards, and other park related items in the Cabrillo Store, which is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. inside the park’s visitor center.
The top of the tower is only open three days a year; March 22, Aug. 25 and Nov. 15.
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SDSU, UCSD Grad Programs
Ranked Among Nation’s Best
SDSU’s graduate programs in education and aerospace engineering are ranked among the nation’s best in the latest U.S. News & World Report issue of America’s Best Graduate Schools.
SDSU’s College of Education ranked No. 57 in the nation among all universities and No. 39 among public universities, making it the highest ranked graduate-level education program in San Diego and 8th in California. The college’s online master’s degree program also ranked among the best at No. 22 in the nation. SDSU’s aerospace engineering program in the College of Engineering ranked No. 37 in the nation and No. 7 in California among all universities.
UC San Diego’s professional schools in engineering and medicine as well as its academic Ph.D. programs in the social sciences and humanities are ranked among the best in the nation in the 2018 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools guidebook. The UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering ranked 13th nationally. Among public universities, the school is listed as the 8th best. The biomedical/bioengineering program within the engineering school is ranked 3rd in the nation.
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Open House on Port Master Plan Update
The Port of San Diego invites the public to attend an open house on March 23 to learn about and discuss the Port Master Plan Update. The Port has been conducting an Integrated Planning initiative that spans 6,000 acres of land and water with the goal of setting a blueprint for baywide planning and development for the next 50 years.
The open house will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the Port of San Diego Administration Building at 3165 Pacific Highway. It will provide an opportunity for the public to learn about the initiative including the work accomplished to date, discuss with the staff team how policies will be captured in the document, and provide comments and feedback to inform this process.
The open house will also include several breakout information stations where the public can engage with Port staff on specific topics and provide written questions or input on comment cards focused on the appropriate topic areas. The comments will be considered in the drafting of the Port Master Plan Update.
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Jacobs School of Engineering Research Expo
A talent showcase
UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering is hosting its premier Research Expo on April 20. The event showcases student research from its M.S. and Ph.D. students in all six of its engineering departments. In addition to the 200 graduate student posters, the event features TED-style talks by faculty and a networking reception for faculty, students, industry partners and alumni. Register here.
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Balboa Theatre’s 93rd Birthday Bash
To Feature the Wonder Morton Organ
San Diegans are invited to a March 27 community celebration honoring a milestone birthday for the historic Balboa Theatre and its majestic Wonder Morton Organ.
The 7 p.m. gala will celebrate the Balboa Theatre’s 93th birthday in a performance showcase highlighting nine decades of theater, music and dance. In a demonstration of the power and versatility of the Wonder Morton Organ, organist Russ Peck will perform a musical backdrop to two short Charlie Chaplin silent film classics.
The Balboa Theatre Organ Foundation conceived the gala as a festive commemoration of the countless people who championed the $1 million renovation of the Balboa Theatre, including the restoration and installation of the Wonder Morton Organ.
Organizers are planning a VIP cocktail reception prior to the gala performance.
Tickets are available for adults $20, students and military service members $10 and VIP $50, and may be purchased in advance from the Balboa Theatre box office (619 570-1100) or online at: http://sandiegotheatres.org/93rd-balboa-theatrebirthday-bash/
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Personnel Announcements
El Cajon Resident Reappointed to Chiropractic Examiners Board
Frank Ruffino, 53, of El Cajon, has been reappointed to the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners by Gov. Jerry Brown. He has served on the board since 2012.
Ruffino has been general services administrator at the Veterans Home of California, Chula Vista since 2013. He was community partnership manager at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility from 2008 to 2013, regional administrative officer at the California Department of Fish and Game from 2004 to 2008 and hospital general services administrator at the California Department of Veterans Affairs from 2000 to 2004.
Ruffino held several positions at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 1985 to 2000, including acting correction business manager, community resources manager and correctional counselor. He is president of the Association of California State Supervisors and a member of the California State Employees Association Board of Directors.
The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Ruffino is registered without party preference.
