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Why Fontana Is Working To Expand Sewer System To Boot Out Septic Tanks

An Inland Valley utility company is studying how to convert nearly 22,000 property parcels from Fontana to Upland — representing about 80,000 people — from septic tank systems to a sewer system connection for their wastewater. Fontana is ground zero of this challenge with nearly 12,000 parcels, representing about 40,000 people, that are not connected to sewer service. Those parcels are either within Fontana’s city limits or in its broader sphere of influence, officials say.

David Little: James Gallagher Keeps Pressure On Oroville Spillway Saga

There are 119 reasons why nothing will change in the wake of the Lake Oroville spillway disaster, why this repetitive flooding and evacuation pattern will continue interminably. There is one reason for hope. Of the 120 people in the state Legislature, which has failed to address this problem for decades, exactly one of them was evacuated from his home on Feb. 12. So, yeah, he takes this personally.

New Spillway Design Said To Pass Muster

The Board of Consultants determined the forensic teams’ list of potential Oroville Dam spillway failures are being addressed in the new design, according to a new memorandum published Last week. The board’s report said the spillway design is ready for final review, with major redesigns including heightening walls beside of the main spillway. Also, a wall dug into the ground that would block erosion up the emergency spillway weir has been moved 350 feet downhill, and is now 600 feet below the spillway weir. That is because there is better quality rock closer to the surface in the new location, according to the report.

Measuring The Snowpack Goes High-tech With Airborne Lasers And Radar

Every year for almost half a century, California snow surveyor Pat Armstrong has trekked the rugged Sierra Nevada with three simple tools: a snow core tube, a scale and a notebook. For as long as he can remember, state water officials have relied on the accuracy of those tools to deliver crucial data on the size of the Sierra snowpack and its ability to sustain a growing population. “It hasn’t changed in a hundred years,” Armstrong said of the survey. But there is a growing belief that this low-tech process alone is becoming too unreliable to accurately manage California’s water needs.

VIDEO: Politically Speaking: Warring Over Water

Water rates in San Diego next year will go up by the smallest hike since 2014. More than half of that increase is due to rising costs charged by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. That agency and our County Water Authority don’t see eye-to-eye. Jim Madaffer, vice chairman of the Water Authority, stops by NBC 7’s Politically Speaking to walk us through issues that prompted a rate-case lawsuit the authority won in Superior Court , and which MWD has taken to an appeal court.