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State Officials Get Slammed For The Oroville Dam Spillway Failure At Sacramento Hearing

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ralph Vartabedian

The California Department of Water Resources came under blistering criticism at a hearing Thursday in the Legislature for its management of the Oroville Dam, three months after nearby residents were evacuated out of concerns about possible flooding. State dam officials reminded the critics that no one had died and that people’s property had been protected even as water that was released during a historic storm in February virtually washed away the dam’s 3,000-foot spillway.

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Water Authority’s $233M Award In Jeopardy After Appellate Panel Hearing

/in /by /The Daily Transcriptby Kevin Lee Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

A landmark $233 million judgment won by the San Diego County Water Authority in a water fee dispute is in jeopardy following oral argument Wednesday before the 1st District Court of Appeal. Two 1st District justices of the three-member panel appeared reluctant to agree with San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Curtis E.A. Karnow’s rulings in favor of the local water authority, with one justice openly wondering how to apply the superior court’s decision.

Bipartisan Group Of Senators Seek $100 Million For Levee Repairs Following The Failure Of Oroville Dam Spillway

/in /by /Carmichael Times

On behalf of their constituents whose lives and properties are continuously impacted by potential flooding, Senators Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama), Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton), Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) requested $100 million for critical and serious levee repairs in the state budget. Following is an excerpt from their letter to Senator Bob Wieckowski, Chairman of the Senate Budget SubCommittee No.2: “The significant amount of rainfall received this year and the severe damage to the Oroville Dam spillways have caused substantial damage to flood control structures that need to be addressed as soon as possible.”

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Metropolitan Water GM Defends Agency From Accusations

/in /by /Times-Advocate (Escondido) by David Ross Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The first part of this article, about the current water situation in the state, will run this week. Part II will talk about the Metropolitan Water District’s general manager, Jeffrey Kightlinger, defending his agency from accusations made by one of its member agencies, the San Diego County Water Authority. Although this article was written for our sister publication, the Valley Roadrunner, we felt that the regional issues are of enough pertinence to Escondido to reprint the article in this publication.

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OPINION: San Diego Will Drink Water Recycled From Sewage. Cheers.

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board used to be among the skeptics who maligned “toilet to tap” — the purification of sewage for regular water uses — and questioned a proposal by local officials on health and cost grounds. Then six years ago we changed our minds with an editorial headlined, “The yuck factor: Get over it.” The science is clear that such water is safe. And history is clear that California is deeply vulnerable to droughts, and that the San Diego region must diversify supplies, given the capricious history of its main water supplier, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

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San Diego Moving Ahead With Sewage-To-Drinking Water Plan

/in /by /The Associated Press (As published by US News)

San Diego officials say within five years, the city will be recycling sewage into drinking water. The San Diego Union-Tribune says the mayor and others backed the plan known as Pure Water San Diego before the California Coastal Commission on Wednesday. The commission granted a request for San Diego to delay retrofitting an aging wastewater treatment plant for at least five more years if the city continues to pursue the recycling project. That allows San Diego to spend the money on building new water-recycling plants at an estimated cost of $3 billion.

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State Water Board Rescinds Mandatory Conservation Standards; Reporting Requirements And Prohibition On Water Waste Remain

/in /by /Valley News (Fallbrook)

The state water resources control board rescinded the water supply “stress test” requirements and remaining mandatory conservation standards for urban water suppliers while keeping in place the water use reporting requirements and prohibitions against wasteful practices. The action by state water board Executive Director Tom Howard was in response to Governor Jerry Brown’s announcement in early April ending the drought state of emergency and transitioning to a permanent framework for making water conservation a California way of life.

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Is Lake Mead Half Empty or Half Full? Predictions for Arizona’s Water Future

/in /by /Phoenix New Timesby Sean Holstege

Objectively, of course, Lake Mead is definitely well beyond half empty. But we like people who challenge orthodoxy around here, so a new study about Arizona’s water woes caught our eye. Western Resource Advocates, a water conservation group based in Colorado, issued a sobering report last week about Arizona’s water shortage. “Arizona’s Water Future” concludes that it’s a tossup whether the state will have to begin water rationing next year.

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Metropolitan Water GM Defends Agency From Accusations

/in /by /Valley Road Runner (Valley Center)by David Ross Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The first part of this article, about the current water situation in the state, ran last week. This week, the Metropolitan Water District’s general manager, Jeffrey Kightlinger, defends his agency from accusations made by one of its member agencies, the San Diego County Water Authority.After his remarks on the state of water delivery in California, Kightlinger took up the issues that the San Diego County Water Authority (the “Authority”) has been making, with representatives of both agencies dogging each other’s trails as they speak before different agency boards throughout the Southland.

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OPINION: It Shouldn’t Take 20 Years To Decide Whether To Build A Desalination Plant

/in /by /The Fresno Bee

Last winter’s extreme storms notwithstanding, water remains scarce in California. Between climate change and ongoing growth, California can’t afford to squander a single gallon. Yet in Orange County, a project that could increase water supply by 50 million potable gallons daily has been awaiting approval since 1998. There are pros and cons aplenty to the $1 billion desalination plant proposed for Huntington Beach by Poseidon Water. And in the nearly 20 years during which state and local authorities mulled it, all have been masticated thoroughly.

 

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