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Court To Hear Appeals In Water Authority Litigation Over Illegal MWD Rates

On Wednesday, May 10, the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco will hear oral argument in the appeals of the San Diego County Water Authority’s victories in two lawsuits against the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. A decision from the Court of Appeal is due within 90 days of oral argument. Superior Court Judge Curtis E.A. Karnow ruled in November 2015 that MWD’s rates for 2011-2014 were illegal.

Sacramento State Is Fixing 43 Drinking Fountains And Water Sources With High Lead

Sacramento State consultants have identified 43 water fountains, bottle filling stations and sinks that must be repaired or replaced due to high lead levels, according to new reports released Monday. The university initially shut down 85 sinks and fountains with lead levels above 5 parts per billion on Jan. 13. That came after students and professors found high lead levels when they tested 449 sinks and fountains over three days in January as part of a research project.

California Asks Federal Taxpayers To Fund Repairs At Dam

California is asking the federal government to pay 75 percent of the hundreds of millions of dollars in repairs to the badly damaged spillways at the nation’s tallest dam, a state water agency spokeswoman said Monday. The question of whether taxpayers or the water contractors that get water via the Oroville Dam would foot the biggest share of the bill has been one of many contentious ones in the aftermath of this winter’s damage at the dam, which is an anchor of the state’s water supply system.

Bringing The Avocado To California’s Central Valley

Americans ate 2 billion pounds of avocados last year. The majority of the green fruit comes from Mexico, and about 10 percent is grown in California. But researchers in California’s Central Valley are breeding avocado trees they hope will grow well in the state’s main agricultural region.

Oroville Dam: With Bills Rolling In, State Borrows Heavily

California is borrowing up to $500 million to pay for the crisis at Oroville Dam, although it expects to be reimbursed for its costs. The Department of Water Resources obtained a $500 million line of credit last week to cover expenses connected to the spillway fracture at Oroville, including the permanent repairs. DWR obtained a separate $300 million credit line last week to cover other capital improvements for the State Water Project beyond Oroville. Federal money is expected to pay for much of the repairs.

San Diego Plans to Use Water to Store 500-MW of Energy, Save Ratepayers Money

As San Diegans start to crank up their air conditioners, the city and the San Diego County Water Authority are developing a way to store energy by using water. Water officials said it’s expected to save ratepayers money in the long run, according to a May 4 report by the ABC-TV affiliate KGTV San Diego. The city and authority want to build an energy storage facility at the San Vicente Reservoir, about 25 miles northeast of San Diego.