Right on cue, the Kings River in Central California is over its banks in the middle of summer as California’s record snow pack becomes liquid and flows downhill as part of the fact of life that snow melts. Pine Flat Reservoir, which stores one million acre feet of water from the Kings River for users in the south-central portion of the San Joaquin Valley, fell to about 10 percent of capacity during the damaging drought.
For engineer Christopher Neudeck, the levee reinforcement near Discovery Bay is just one small piece of a giant challenge left by an extraordinary winter. “If that levee were to fail, the lake, the golf course, the commercial area in here, that would all go under water” says Neudeck, pointing to a map of Discovery Bay in his Stockton office. The last time KPIX covered his team at work was mid-winter, repairing a delta levee that almost failed on Tyler Island. Now it’s late June, and a new risk is flowing along California’s levees. The state is experiencing what Neudeck calls a “very unusual year. The snowpack has been really prolonged.”
Once upon a time, Californians would have no excuse to complain about a drought. Some 8,200 years ago, the area was wet and stormy for a stretch of about 150 years. The uncharacteristically rainy period accompanied a climate anomaly which took place at the same time, first discovered in Greenland ice cores in 1997. The “8.2 ka” event took place during the Holocene (aka the last 11,000 years or so) which was once thought to be a pretty uneventful time, climate-wise. The soggy new findings were published recently in Scientific Reports.
President Donald Trump’s nomination of a Bureau of Reclamation veteran to head the agency with primary responsibility on the Colorado River won the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton and a cautious reaction from U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, both Republicans. Brenda Burman is an excellent choice with a strong background in Western water issues, Tipton’s office said. Much of the river’s course in Colorado runs through Tipton’s 3rd Congressional district. “There is no question that Ms. Burman has significant expertise and history in Western water issues, particularly in the Colorado River Basin,” Gardner said in a statement.
To help showcase how California Friendly™ plants beautify homes and businesses, the Metropolitan Water District has unveiled a new monthly video featuring different types of watersaving garden on the agency’s water conservation webpage, bewaterwise.com. The two-minute videos will showcase a specific plant each month to educate gardeners across the region that being California Friendly can be easy and beautifying. California Friendly describes native and non-native plants that use less water, require minimal maintenance and can
better withstand drought conditions.
Chula Vista, Calif. – At its meeting on June 14, 2017, the Governing Board of Sweetwater Authority (Authority) appointed Tish Berge to the role of general manager, effective June 26, 2017.
Berge brings more than 25 years of experience in the water industry, including as Director of Finance and Administration for Rincon del Diablo Water District in Escondido and Assistant General Manager for San Elijo Joint Powers Authority in Encinitas.
A story on B1 June 5 about San Diego County Water Authority board meetings contained incorrect information about attendance stipends, expenses, and other payments for board members through March of this year. The amount paid collectively is $106,500.
Calaveras Dam — built by the City of San Francisco 92 years ago — sits next to an active earthquake fault. Downstream are Fremont and other communities along Alameda Creek where 300,000 people live that are considered at risk in a major quake. The dam’s base is comprised of loose earth from a previous dam that had failed earlier in the 20th century. It was back in the day when quake knowledge was just barely out of the Stone Age.
Water and sewer rates for Padre Dam Municipal Water District customers are going up, despite pushback from some residents at a public hearing last week. The five-member water board approved rate hikes which will take effect in November. The average residential Padre Dam customer will pay about $155 a month for water and sewer services, up from $151. Further rate hikes are scheduled yearly through 2021. Increases will vary by customer based on water consumption and the type of dwelling — single family, multifamily, commercial, condominiums, hotels or apartments.
The Golden State is making a strong lobbying push to try to win new federal loans for water infrastructure projects, according to data and documents reviewed by Bloomberg BNA. The EPA has received applications from water systems across the country for these loans in 2017, the first year the agency will dole them out. But California is head and shoulders above its peers in trying to persuade the agency to send the loans its way.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
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