A plan to build two huge tunnels to shunt fresh water around the Sacramento Delta is supposed to be funded entirely by the people who receive the water. But taxpayers may end up paying a substantial amount of the tab. That’s according to documents obtained by the Stockton-based environmental group Restore the Delta that discuss the cost of the California WaterFix project, which is projected to cost at least $16 billion to build.
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a measure by state Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, to help failing public water systems provide services in disadvantaged communities throughout California. Wolk’s Senate Bill 552 enables the state to contract with third-party administrators with the expertise to help provide customers of these failing water systems with safe and affordable drinking water. “All Californians have a right to safe, clean, affordable and accessible water suitable for human consumption, cooking and sanitation,” Wolk said.
Last year at this time, weather forecasters had a pretty good idea of what was in store as California headed into the rainy season. The Pacific Ocean surface was warming, and they were predicting one of the strongest El Niño weather patterns in recorded history. El Niño ended up making an appearance, but it wasn’t the series of gully washers for which some had hoped. This year, the forecast is even less certain. “It really is a crapshoot,” said Michelle Mead, a meteorologist with the Sacramento office of the National Weather Service.
Gulf states are among the most water-scarce in the world. With few freshwater resources and low rainfall, many countries have turned to desalination (where salt is removed from seawater) for their clean water needs. But Gulf states are heading for “peak salt”: the more they desalinate, the more concentrated wastewater, brine, is pumped back into the sea; and as the Gulf becomes saltier, desalination becomes more expensive. “In time, it’s going to become impossible to use desalination in a way that makes economic sense,” says Gökçe Günel, an anthropologist at the University of Arizona.
Although we have made impressive investments to develop local water supplies, most of San Diego’s water continues to come from far away. In fact, more than 80 percent of our county’s water supply is imported from Northern California and the Colorado River. And this heavy reliance on imported water is expected to continue for decades to come, even with much needed local investments in conservation, desalination and recycling. Soon, Southern California will be asked to make an important decision related to its north state supply.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
