By Patricia Mooney
Chief Deputy Officer of Infrastructure Johnnie Perkins joined us at our December meeting of the San Carlos Area Council (SCAC) and gave a presentation about the San Diego Pure Water Program. At that time, he invited all community members to tour the Pure Water facility.
Early in February, three of us – SCAC President Mark Schulze, his father, Rolf, and I all joined Sarah Lemons, community outreach specialist, on a walk through the complex. Lemons first showed us a PowerPoint presentation in the conference room and then we all proceeded step by step along the water filtration process.
The facility will soon be expanding to accommodate all the water expected to flow through it into San Diego homes. Phase 1 includes several projects that will clean recycled water to produce 30 million gallons of high-quality purified water per day, beginning in 2023. Additional phases will roll out beyond 2023, delivering one-third of San Diego’s water supply by 2035.
We all came away with more of an understanding of how San Diego will become more self-sufficient with our water supply relying less on water imported from the Colorado River and the Sacramento Delta. At the end of the tour we all tasted the purified water and were impressed by how good it tasted.
The recent rains have filled a few rain buckets and our local wilderness areas are wearing a lovely shade of green just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. We’ve seen the yellow-orange California poppies popping off the banks of Interstate 8. The San Diego River flowing through Mission Trails Regional Park is at a high volume and there are waterfalls at both the dam and in Oak Canyon south of the Highway 52 bridge. It is nice to see families with children and pets (on leashes) enjoying the amenities of our beautiful park.
I have heard a few complaints from hikers who do not appreciate recreationists playing loud music on their devices. I agree that the sounds of nature are what most of us appreciate, especially the melody of flowing water. If you’d rather hear a soundtrack then please use your earbuds and be considerate of others who may not appreciate death metal on a sunny San Diego day.
And speaking of green, President Schulze and I spent two days as a video crew at the Cannabis Nurses Network Conference at the Sheraton on Harbor Island. While there, we learned a lot of essential information about the medicinal qualities of the cannabis plant.
It is a fact that nurses are the most respected of professions. To enter a room full of 200 nurses from all over the country who are advocating the use of cannabis for the medical needs of their patients is paradigm-shifting. Many of them became cannabis nurses after suffering catastrophic injury themselves and subsequently discovering the benefits of cannabis.
San Diego mayoral candidate Barbara Bry gave the opening remarks. Several vendors there marketed CBD products for pain management. I tried the Baskin transdermal cream for my inflamed arthritic shoulders and the relief was almost immediate.
One of the main themes of the conference was the raging opioid addiction issue. Several RNs spoke about how cannabis is certainly a gateway drug – a gateway away from opioids. This issue affects many seniors who no longer want to pop pills to feel better. If you’re interested in learning more about this issue, I recommend Googling the “endocannabinoid system” and “cannabis.” And for good measure, check out the Cannabis Nurses Network right here in San Diego. One of the cannabis nurses will speak to the SCAC at a future meeting. We’ll let you know when that will be.
Our next SCAC meeting will be Wednesday, April 3 at 6:30-8 p.m. at the San Carlos Branch Library, 7265 Jackson Drive. Please join us to hear reports from our local state, county and city representatives.
— Patricia Mooney is vice president of the San Carlos Area Council. Have a San Carlos story to tell? Email [email protected].
