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Reservoir Expansion Could Store Water For Millions In Bay Area

Millions of Bay Area residents could get extra drought insurance against water shortages and quality problems from a proposed $800 million expansion of the Los Vaqueros Reservoir that may have up to 10 water suppliers as partners. Ten water agencies serving San Jose, Fremont, Oakland, Concord, Richmond, Antioch, San Francisco and other communities have negotiated preliminary deals to contribute a combined $1 million for feasibility studies on expanding the reservoir south of Brentwood.

 

BLOG: On The Colorado River, Climate Change Is Water Change

The Colorado river basin is undergoing one of the worst droughts ever recorded, producing those apocalyptic images of Lake Mead and Lake Powell with their gigantic “bathtub ring” shorelines caused by shrinking water supply. All the states that depend on the river – Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming – have had to scramble to conserve and add new water supplies as a result. And there’s no clear end in sight.

 

Frazier Opposes Delta Tunnels In Letter To California WaterFix

Assemblymember Jim Frazier, whose 11th Assembly District includes much of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, has called upon a state board to reject a change in water rights as proposed by proponents of the Delta twin tunnels project. “My constituents expect to be protected by the State of California,” Frazier said in a six-page letter to the State Water Resources Control Board, which is considering a petition to divert water from the Sacramento River into the tunnels that would be built by the California WaterFix Project. frazier-waterfix-letter-nov-2016

 

 

GE Water Update

While last Monday morning’s announcement that GE was exiting the water business had been long-rumored, it took many people in the water industry (including your correspondent) by surprise. In October 2008, in the same issue of WDR that Heiner Markhoff was introduced as GE Water’s new president, we reported that, “Industry rumors have already been circulating about which businesses might be sold off,” and, “GE’s Zenon UF product line has been singled out as being most likely to be first on the block.”

Residents Urged To Collect Rainwater, Rebate Offered On Barrels

A rebate program that will make already discounted rain barrels even less expensive for area residents will be available through the end of this year, the San Diego County Water Authority announced Monday. The 50-gallon barrels will be available at the Solana Center for $90, discounted from $149, according to the water authority. Until Dec. 31, purchasers can also get a $75 rebate through the SoCalWaterSmart program. The offer will be reduced to $35 on Jan. 1, according to the agency. “Water stored in rain barrels can gradually be released into landscapes between rains,” said Joni German, water resources specialist for the water authority.

We Don’t Have Water Shortage

Reading about our water shortage is becoming very tiring and exasperating. California does not have a water shortage. You don’t believe me? Try driving west from downtown Ventura and see how far you can go before you discover a vast, seemingly never-ending supply of it. When arriving here in 1961, we found California to be a desert, and as far as we know, it still is. We should not rely on rain, or aqueducts from Northern California or the Colorado River, etc. The salt can be taken out of ocean water as it is done in every large ship that sails.

 

OPINION: Geo Springer: It’s Too Late To Stop Those Who Intend To Take Our Water

It is very simple. In this day and age of politics it seems anything can be said by the government or power elite as true facts … as they cover up the truth. They are taking water out of the Sacramento River and sending it south and they want to replace it with water from the Tuolumne, Merced and Stanislaus rivers. Big southern cities are taking water from the smaller less politically powerful communities. They will have meetings and committees with smoke and mirrors to prove they are right. The Sacramento pipeline is already a done deal.

Prop 53: What’s The Real Impact On CA’s Infrastructure?

Millions of dollars are in play to sway your vote on Proposition 53. The TV ads are everywhere. Supporters call it the “No Blank Checks Initiative,” while Gov. Jerry Brown says it’s bad for California. FAST FACTS: Passage of Prop 53 could spell funding problems for Brown’s twin tunnels project, high speed rail.Opponents argue Prop 53 would threaten future infrastructure problems, while supporters tout expensive projects would require voter approval. If Prop 53 were in effect during rolling blackouts of 2001, electricity crisis would have been tougher to deal with

 

 

This Is Drought

For all the water saving tactics San Diego County residents have employed, they’re not helping nature take care of her own. This photograph, taken the morning of Oct. 7, shows all too acutely what drought means to Fallbrook. This is what’s left of the man-made pond in Los Jilgueros Preserve. Acquired by the Fallbrook Land Conservancy in 1990, plentiful rains once filled the preserve pond so that water flowed from it across a concrete dip in the major trail through the interior, making the trail nearly impassable.

OPINION: Seeking Cost-Effective Solutions For The Bay Delta

In recent weeks, the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has launched a PR campaign in San Diego County to advocate for a $17 billion plan to build twin tunnels for carrying water under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta. Then, the MWD dismissed a request by the San Diego County Water Authority for details about how the MWD will pay its share of the bill, which probably will exceed $4 billion.