Improving the San Diego region's performance on air and water quality, alternative energy production, and land preservation.  See what's new below and browse our data catalog for all Environment datasets.

After a trip to the beach, visitors should leave with sandy feet and smiles, not an illness. Stormwater pollution and sewage spills can put our health at risk, so the County’s Department of Environmental Health is here to monitor the water and let us know if the water we swim in is safe for a dip.

Make sure you “check in before you get in” and visit sdbeachinfo.com for current beach water quality across the county.  Read more...

In January 2017 we reported a loss of 145 trees over the previous quarter. A number of tree plantings over the next quarter helped us replace those lost trees with nearly 1,119 new ones - substantially higher than our overarching goal of replanting lost trees 3:1.

Since the adoption of The Multiple Species Conservation Plan (MSCP) Subarea Plan in 1997 through 2015, the County and its MSCP partners have achieved 77% of their total conservation goal, which has been set at 98,379-acres. In 18 years of this 50-year program, the County and its public agency and private conservation partners have assembled 75,450 total acres as part of the MSCP.

In fiscal year 2015-2016, we permitted enough solar capacity to power 7,502 California homes. Between 7/1/16 and 12/31/16, we have issued permits for 25,640 kilowatts of solar capacity for residential and commercial projects.  We are on track to meet our goal of 50,000 kilowatts for fiscal year 2016-2017.  In order to ensure we continue to reach our goal, we have streamlined the permitting and inspection process; including implementing an award winning online permitting process for residential rooftop solar installations. The County currently processes 86% of solar permit applications online.