By Mike Allen

December 6, 2024 (Santee) --Another concession vendor bites the dust at Santee Lakes No. 4.

Angry Pete’s exercised its option not to renew its lease at the scenic decked outpost in the middle of the park last month,  then closed down its window effective Dec.1.

On his Facebook page, Angry Pete’s owner Pete Harbison said his business and himself were stretched too thin to keep the outlet going.

“The hard truth is that like many businesses, we've faced a challenging and rough road. The ever-increasing food and labor costs have made it harder and harder to maintain our business at a break-even level. We don't want to get rich, but we do need to at least break even,” Harbison said. “On top of that, despite pouring all of my time, energy and finances into staying open, I've had to face the reality that I’ve left very little for my own family—in both time & security.”

By Mike Allen

December 13, 2023 (San Diego’s East County)--The Padre Dam Municipal Water District says it has filed a lawsuit against one of its biggest customers, the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, over allegedly taking water through unmetered lines without paying for it.

By Mike Allen

June 9, 2023 (Santee) -- Padre Dam Water District’s board is fed up with having to pay higher rates for the water it purchases from the San Diego County Water Authority, and voted unanimously not to go along with any rate hike unless the CWA gets serious about its long-range planning.

By Mike Allen

Photo:   Rocky Qualin (beard) and Brian Fordyce, new directors of Padre Dam Water District

December 12, 2022 (Santee) -- Brian Fordyce was appointed this month as the newest director for the Padre Dam Municipal Water District board of directors, taking over a seat for District 1 formerly held by Doug Wilson.

Update: At their meeting on February 16, Padre Dam's Board of Directors voted to begin the approval process of a time change from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Staff will first research the change, such as impacts on other personnel's schedules and any financial ramifications, before sending it back to the Board of Directors for final approval at a later meeting, as per their rules.

By Miriam Raftery

February 15, 2022 (Santee) – Suzanne Till, a teacher, has asked her colleagues on the Padre Dam Municipal Water District Board to move meeting times from 3:30 to 4 p.m. since she has repeatedly been late due to the long commute from her job at a Chula Vista school.  But so far, the board has not done so.  The issue of moving the meeting time to later will be on the agenda for the board’s virtual meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 3:30 p.m., item 12. 

But some fear the board majority, all Republicans, may vote to oust Till, a Democrat, for tardiness in a partisan maneuver rather than accommodate a minor shift in meeting times. Till has fought against water rates, also opposing fines for late payments and water shutoffs during the pandemic. She holds a PhD in water resources geography and is a former Marine Corps Captain.  Her website details her record:  www.suzannetill.com .

By Mike Allen

December 23, 2018 (Santee) -- Based on future cost projections that involve multiple agencies and variable prices such as power and labor, the Advanced Water Purification Program still makes sense and is worth pursuing, staffers from Padre Dam Municipal Water District told its board this week.

Source: Padre Dam Municipal Water District

May 18, 2017 (Santee) - Padre Dam Municipal Water District received regulatory conceptual approvals for the East County Advanced Water Purification Program from the California State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water. Additionally, the State Water Resources Control Board awarded Padre Dam $116.2 million as part of the Proposition 1 (Prop 1) Water Recycling Funding Program. 

East County News Service

April 29, 2017 (Santee) -- Padre Dam Municipal Water District, Helix Water District, City of El Cajon and the County of San Diego were recently honored with being named “Recycled Water Agency of the Year” - medium agency category - from the WateReuse California Section and the WateReuse California Board for their work on the East County Advanced Water Purification Program. To celebrate,  they teamed up with Ballast Point Brewing Company to serve up a”Padre Dam Pilsner,”  a  beer made with treated wastewater from the East County Advanced Water Purification Program  at a reception last month at the Westin hotel downtown.

More than 100 Girl Scouts learned about the future of water in East San Diego County

Source:  Padre Dam nes release

November 10, 2016 (Santee) - More than 100 Girl Scouts from San Diego County joined Padre Dam Municipal Water District on Sunday, November 6 to learn about water, conservation and the future of water in East San Diego County during Padre Dam’s Girl Scout San Diego Day at the East County Advanced Water Purification Demonstration Facility.

CAPIO, PRSA and AMCP recognize Advanced Water Purification Video

East County News Service

June 2, 2016 (Santee) - Padre Dam Municipal Water District was nationally honored with a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), an Award of Distinction from the California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) and a Platinum Hermes Creative Award from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) for its video, Water, Too Good to Waste. 

13 projects will boost conservation, habitat, water recycling and more

Source: County Water Authority

January 17, 2016  (San Diego) -- The San Diego region has been awarded $31.1 million in grant money by the state Department of Water Resources for a variety of projects that will increase local water supplies, decrease water demands, improve water quality, manage storm water, restore habitat and enhance species.

The awards include several East County and inland region projects, notably expansion of Padre Dam’s advanced water treatment reclamation facility, a program to improve water quality in disadvantaged rural communities, habitat recovery at Sweetwater Reservoir, water-wise educational programs for Lemon Grove and Spring Valley schools, water capture and grey water reuse in the Chollas Creek/Encanto area, as well as rehabilitation of the San Diego River headwaters including removal of invasive plant species, feral pigs, unauthorized trails/campgrounds and restoration of sites.

January 30, 2013--(San Diego’s East County)--East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL/REGIONAL

• Citrus Pest Spurs State Spraying In La Mesa (La Mesa Today)
• Board of Supervisors Approves Sale of 3-Acre Parcel to La Mesa For New Park
• La Mesa Winery to Open in Summer  (La Mesa Courier)
• County’s Equine Ordinance: Public input sought (Ramona Patch)
• Adios, Plaza de Panama project? (CityBeat)
• Watchdog Group Requests Council Transparency (La Mesa Courier)
• Nurse’s vision yields beds for homeless after surgery (U-T San Diego)
• Water war breaks out over PR contract (U-T San Diego)
• Padre Dam picks board officers (U-T San Diego)
• Mayor fires San Diego's lobbyists (Sacramento Bee)

STATE

• Governor Jerry Brown delivers State of the State address (Governor’s Office)
• Reactions to Governor’s State of the State address (Sacramento Bee)
• Calif. Speaker seeks to expand Medi-Cal for poor (Sacramento Bee)
• Doctors Ask Court To Review Medi-Cal Pay Cut (Sacramento Bee)
• Analysis: California budget fix relies on good times for the rich (Reuters)
• Secret hearings in case of Chandra Levy slaying (Sacramento Bee) 

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

July 25, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)—Padre Dam Municipal Water District are considering a rate hike on its 24,000 customers in East County.

On Thursday, July 26 at 6 p.m., the District will hold a workshop at its board room (9300 Fanita Parkway in Santee) to explain the proposal and answer questions. 

November 17, 2010 (Alpine) – The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians and Padre Dam Municipal Water District today announced an agreement to conduct further tribal cultural resource investigations at a proposed development site which has been declared a sanctified Native American burial ground and ceremonial site.