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California needs better account of groundwater

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby Alvar Escriva-Bou, Ellen Hanak and Jay Lund

California’s prolonged drought has driven home the need to improve our balance sheet for water – determining how much there is, who has claims to it and what is actually being used.

Our research, which was released Wednesday, has identified major gaps in the collection, management and use of water information. Compared to 11 other western states, Australia and Spain – places that also struggle with water scarcity – California’s systems have significant room for improvement.

 

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Plan to Save Delta Smelt Faces Tough Road

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Michael Levitin

When a coalition of California and federal agencies announced a new Delta Smelt Resiliency Strategy last week, the ambitious plan to save the region’s nearly extinct fish grabbed headlines.

But whether most, or even parts, of the comprehensive program can realistically put in place the changes needed to rescue this endangered native species is another question.

 

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Court ruling could boost cost of California water project

/in /by /The Sacramento Beeby SUDHIN THANAWALA

The California Supreme Court is set to issue a ruling Thursday that could add millions of dollars to the cost of the governor’s $15.7 billion plan to build two giant water tunnels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. At issue is whether California officials must pay landowners to access thousands of acres of private property to conduct preliminary environmental and geological tests for the project. California officials insist no payments are needed because the tests would not significantly interfere with or damage the land, which is mostly used for farming, cattle ranching and recreation.

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Weeklong heat wave in Southern California is expected to peak Saturday

/in /by /The Los Angeles Timesby Joseph Serna

A heat wave that’s expected to push temperatures into the triple digits will bake Southern California through the weekend, the National Weather Service said.

The high temperatures will come filled with monsoonal moisture from a system sweeping over Arizona and Texas, giving the heat wave a humid, sticky feel, NWS meteorologist Kathy Hoxsie said.

“This is a reminder that we’re in summer, and this is exactly the time of year to expect our hotter temperatures,” Hoxsie said. Temperatures will continue to climb until they peak Saturday, when forecasters predict it could hit 106 degrees in Lancaster and 105 in Palmdale.

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Weeklong heat wave in Southern California is expected to peak Saturday

/in /by /The Los Angeles Timesby Joseph Serna

A Heat wave that’s expected to push temperatures into the triple digits will bake Southern California through the weekend, the National Weather Service said.

The high temperatures will come filled with monsoonal moisture from a system sweeping over Arizona and Texas, giving the heat wave a humid, sticky feel, NWS meteorologist Kathy Hoxsie said. “This is a reminder that we’re in summer, and this is exactly the time of year to expect our hotter temperatures,” Hoxsie said.

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Accelerating Innovation in the Urban Water Sector

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Michael Kiparsky

Climate change and population growth are rapidly increasing stress on our water systems, challenging their ability to deliver critical services. To respond to this, we need more than simple course adjustments in how we manage our water – we need entirely new paradigms that will improve resource efficiency and support more sustainable urban water systems.

Considerable work is being done to develop new visions for sustainable water infrastructure. Actualizing these visions, however, is another battle, one that requires increasing innovation in the urban water sector.

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The Unforgiving New Landscape for Water Utilities

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Max Gomberg

Local officials are judged on how well their governments provide basic services from transportation to trash collection. So it has been with drinking water: if the water was safe to drink and reliably delivered, water managers were doing their job. Moreover, when water managers thought about long-term planning, the answer was always the same: increase supply.

Climate change, new economic realities and population growth in the Sun Belt (from California to Florida) has made water management much more complex.

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CWA rates and charges to rise 5.9 percent for treated water, 6.4 percent for untreated supply

/in /by /Bonsall Villlage News (Fallbrook) by Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority (CWA) board approved an increase in water rates for next year.

The CWA board action June 23 set the water rates and charges for calendar year 2017. The rates on a countywide basis will increase by 5.9 percent for treated water and 6.4 percent for untreated water. The new rates and charges will be effective Jan. 1, and the CWA’s member agencies have the option of absorbing the rate increases or passing on the additional cost to customers.

 

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VIDEO: Mail Print More County to Establish Groundwater Sustainablilty Agency

/in /by /KGET (Bakersfield)
County supervisors took action this morning to officially file a notice of intent with the state to establish a groundwater sustainability agency.
It’s more of a technical maneuver than anything else. GSAs are starting to pop up in Kern County, to comply with state law that mandates a statewide effort to balance demand for our groundwater with supplies.
The city of Bakersfield has joined with Kern Delta Water District to form their own GSA.They both draw water from the Kern River.
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Sites Reservoir likely years down the road

/in /by /The Redding Record Searchlightby Damon Arthur

Don’t expect to see a reservoir built in the hills west of Maxwell anytime soon.

Plans to build the Sites Reservoir have been in the works since 1957, and if it is eventually approved, work on the project probably would not be complete for another 10 to 12 years, according to Jim Watson, the Sites Reservoir Project general manager.

“Sites is not for us. Sites is for our grandchildren,” said Nadine Bailey, chief operating officer for the Family Water Alliance in Maxwell.

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