By Patricia Mooney

As I write this, rain is about to descend upon our long-parched neighborhoods. We need it badly because San Diego has been suffering through a long drought for decades.

Driving past El Capitan Reservoir last week on Interstate 8, it was lower than I’ve seen it in the 40-plus years I’ve lived in San Diego. A local swimming hole we love to frequent in the springtime was completely dry last year. Old Mission Dam was also reduced to sand dunes this past summer. These are the kinds of moments that give you pause for reflection; the kinds of moments that thankfully also give our city officials a reason to pursue creative ways to bring water to our region.

At our December San Carlos Area Council (SCAC) meeting, the city of San Diego’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer Johnnie Perkins gave a presentation on the San Diego PURE Water Program coming to a faucet near you by 2035. We learned that this multi-year program will unfold in three phases and that we will rely less on water imported from Colorado and Sacramento. Sustainability is key and therefore water purification technology will be employed to clean recycled water resulting in safe, high-quality drinking water. Environmental organizations including Surfrider, San Diego Coastkeeper, San Diego River Park Foundation and San Diego Audubon Society have signed on as supporters of this initiative.

“When you look at the fact that we are at the end of the pipe, that we import almost all of our water, this is going to give us a new reliable local source of water that we just haven’t had before,” said Marco Gonzalez, executive director of the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation.

A San Carlos resident himself, Mr. Perkins invited all neighbors on a tour of the PURE Water facility, to see the infrastructure behind our radical new water source. SCAC President Mark Schulze and I plan to take him up on that invitation.

Our new liaison from the office of Councilmember Scott Sherman’s office, Roarke Shanley, also paid us a visit to introduce himself and give us a status update on a resident homeless man who has sparked multiple threads on NextDoor and has many neighbors concerned about safety in the neighborhood. He said that if we have any issues, we need to express them to Councilmember Sherman, and send an email to [email protected].

Mission Trails Interpretive Center will end its reign as host of The Mission Trails Sunday Concert Series this month, handing the torch over to Mission Trails Church at 4880 Zion Ave. in Grantville. Popular troubadour Gregory Page will head the new lineup on Jan. 13, 2019 at 3–4 p.m. And the series will continue on the second Sunday of every month. The church offers a larger venue and more parking spaces. You can learn more about the Mission Trails Sunday Concert Series at bit.ly/2rrfFMN.

Our next SCAC meeting will be Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the San Carlos branch library, 7265 Jackson Drive. Local city and county representatives are slated to share their news.

Check out our Twitter page at twitter.com/CouncilSCA and on Facebook, look for San Carlos Area Council.

—Patricia Mooney is vice president of the San Carlos Area Council. Email [email protected]