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Riverside County Has a New Plan to Fund Salton Sea Restoration, and it Involves Tax Revenue

/in /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Sammy Roth

When the Obama administration announced $30 million for Salton Sea restoration last month, local officials praised the federal government for finally starting to address the deterioration of California’s largest lake. But they also acknowledged $30 million isn’t nearly enough: It will ultimately take several billion dollars to avert an environmental and public health disaster at the Salton Sea. Now, Riverside County is working on a plan that could generate a lot more money.

 

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Arsenic Still Taints Some California Drinking Water

/in /by /KPBSby Erik Anderson

More than 55,000 California residents get public water that’s tainted with unsafe levels of arsenic, according to the nonprofit advocacy organization Environmental Integrity Project. The chemical is a carcinogen that’s been linked to cancer, developmental difficulties, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. “The longer you are exposed, the more likely you are to suffer serious health effects,” said Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project. “As is done now with private well users, really you ought to take steps to protect your family and try to avoid the water until its clean again.”

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OPINION: Why Does State Want More Water? To Send it South

/in /by /The Modesto Beeby Edwin J. Erwin

I just read the well written article by Opinions Page Editor Mike Dunbar regarding the State Water Resources Control Board’s proposed increase of out-flows of the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Merced rivers. One factor not discussed is the offset this water increase would have to the reduced Sacramento River flow through the San Joaquin Delta Area that would result from implementation of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed twin tunnel water project, his so-called California WaterFix.

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BLOG: Water Works: Sue Sims on How to Make Conservation Permanent

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Eline Gordts

When it comes to water management in California, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a giant. The 26 public agencies belonging to the district together deliver water to 19 million people, making it the largest distributor of drinking water in the country. About half of it is imported, part from the Colorado River system and part from the State Water Project. What does it take to run an organization that delivers 1.5 billion gallons (5.7bn liters) of water per day? And what impact has the drought had on planning?

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OPINION: Tunnels or No Tunnels, All Californians Face Water Realities

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dan Morain

Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels proposal is a muddled mess, or so write Jeffrey Michael of the University of The Pacific and John Kirlin of McGeorge School of Law. Greater clarity and transparency regarding what is proposed, its effects and responsibility for future decisions are needed. As currently proposed, the tunnels are a high-stakes gamble, Michael and Kirlin write. True enough, the tunnels are costly and disruptive. But a decision needs to be made one way or another.

 

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OPINION: California is Backsliding on Water Conservation. L.A. Can’t and Won’t Follow Suit

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Mark Gold

Last month, California’s Water Resources Control Board took the easy way out on water conservation.

In 2015, California nearly met Governor Brown’s mandatory water conservation goal of 25% thanks to transparent monthly reporting and identifying profligate water wasters. The water board even fined a few of the worst water hogs to demonstrate how serious it was about getting urban Californians to live within their water means.

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California Considers New Rules to Allow Direct Consumption of Treated Sewer Water

/in /by /89.3 KPCC (Pasadena)by Emily Guerin

California is considering becoming the first state in the country to allow people to drink recycled sewer water. For years, the state has allowed this to go on indirectly, by permitting water utilities to put treated wastewater into reservoirs and groundwater, where it is diluted with other water sources. Now, the goal is to skip that step and and put the treated effluent straight into drinking water.

 

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Good news: California Agriculture on Rebound in 2016

/in /by /Western Farm Press (St. Charles, Ill.)by Harry Cline

America’s No. 1 agricultural state, California, did not fare any better than the rest of nation last year with a drop of $9 billion in cash receipts, a 17 percent plunge from the previous year. The drop was not unexpected for Vernon Crowder, senior vice president of Rabobank in Fresno, Calif. However, the size did surprise him. The drought had plenty to do with the nose dive, but significant drops in dairy and nut prices also contributed. Unlike Midwest corn and soybeans, the prospects for a California turnaround are good.

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San Diego County Prepares For Emergencies

/in /by /Seaside Courier (Encinitas)by Mark Muir

Wildfires have raged across California in recent weeks, burning tens of thousands of acres even before the traditional fire season begins. As we enter National Preparedness Month in September, the fires are a grim reminder that we must all take action to ensure that we are ready at the personal and community levels for the kinds of emergencies that could emerge at any time.Of course, wildfires are a top concern in San Diego County. We also face the potential for other kinds of emergencies, from earthquakes and drought to cyberattacks and hazardous materials spills.

 

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The Forecast for Lake Mead: Hot and Dry With Plenty of Anxiety

/in /by /Fremont Tribune (Fremont, Neb.)by William Yardley

A reckoning arrives every August for the Colorado River and the 40 million people across the West who depend on it. After water managers measure annual inflows and outflows and do their best to estimate future precipitation in places as far-flung as northwestern Wyoming and southwestern New Mexico, they make a pronouncement that once was arcane but has become increasingly prominent — and ominous. Technically, what they announce is the projected elevation of Lake Mead, the Colorado River’s largest reservoir, on Jan. 1 for each of the next two years.

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