NORTH COUNTY: The Olivenhain Municipal District Water board voted unanimously Wednesday to sue the San Diego County Water Authority over a plan to shift water from Lake Hodges to Olivenhain Reservoir.
The water authority plans to transfer 17,000 acre-feet of water from Hodges to Olivenhain next year through a recently completed, $147 million tunnel between the two reservoirs southwest of Escondido.
The Olivenhain district has complained to the authority that water in Lake Hodges contains 78 “contaminants” and shouldn't be blended with that of the reservoir until the water is cleaned up.
“Lake Hodges water has been served to member agencies . . . and has been a drinking-water source for many decades,” water authority spokesman Jason Foster said yesterday.
He said a plan to blend Hodges and Olivenhain water has been in the works since the authority's Emergency Storage Plan was approved more than 10 years ago, and the Olivenhain district was a party to that.
Olivenhain officials have said it will cost the district $40 million in equipment to treat the reservoir's water if it is blended with water from Lake Hodges. –M.B.
Art banner sales
to aid artists, groups
ENCINITAS: The 101 Arts Alive banners that have decorated Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas this spring will be auctioned at 2 p.m. Sunday at Cardiff Towne Center, San Elijo Avenue and Birmingham Drive.
Bidding for the original art banners begins at $150.
Proceeds will benefit the artists and three nonprofits that sponsored the banner program: Leucadia 101 Main Street Association, Cardiff Chamber of Commerce and 101 Artists' Colony. For information, go to encinitas101.com or call (760) 943-1950. –M.M.
Urban village plan
is focus of workshop
SAN MARCOS: Partially vacant land near California State University San Marcos could become a bustling urban village with housing for students and faculty, retail stores and shops in about 10 years, according to a conceptual plan.
The plan will be presented for public input at a workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow. The meeting will be at the San Marcos Senior Center, 111 Richmar Ave.
For two months, an advisory group has been meeting to discuss plans that would create a mixed-use development on 150 acres on both sides of Twin Oaks Valley Road near the university.
The project, called University Village, would be adjacent to where the city is planning to create a downtown area of retail, commercial and housing along the San Marcos Creek.
A second workshop about University Village will be held May 31. For more information, call (760) 744-1050, ext. 3234. –L.L.
City invites ideas for
Web site redesign
SAN MARCOS: The city is scheduled to redesign its Web site this summer and is looking for ideas from the public.
Once the work begins, it will take about six to ninth months to complete, city officials said. The existing Web site will operate until then.
A 10-question survey has been posted on the site, at www.san-marcos.net. It asks questions about how people get information about the city, how often they check the city's Web site and for suggestions to improve it. –L.L.
Staff writers Mike Burge, Marcia Manna and Linda Lou contributed to this report.
