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OPINION: Water Bonds Should Be Used to Fund Sites Reservoir

Now that there’s a list of projects vying for the $2.7 billion in Proposition 1 money dedicated to water storage, you’d think the chances of the proposed Sites Reservoir in Colusa County getting some of that cash would be clearer. Not so. There are few surprises in the list of projects. The uncertainty is because the decision will be made by the California Water Commission, a panel whose members are appointed by the governor, without a confirmation process so there’s no accountability. And, there is no real track record for such decisions.

Drinking Lead: Why California May Require All Schools to Test Their Water

When a therapy dog refused to drink at a San Diego grade school, it was the first clue that something was wrong with the water. Tests revealed why the pup turned up its nose — the presence of polyvinyl chloride, the polymer in PVC pipes that degrade over time. But further analysis found something else that had gone undetected by the dog, the teachers and students of the San Diego Cooperative Charter School, and the school district: elevated levels of lead.

Proposal Would Commit California To Acting On Shrinking Lake

Five months after California outlined a $383 million plan to slow the shrinking of the state’s largest lake, agencies will try to make sure officials honor the commitment, according to a report. The proposal announced in March involves building ponds at the north and south ends of the Salton Sea, a salty, desert lake that has suffered a string of environmental setbacks since the 1970s. The plan left agencies in the Imperial Valley unsatisfied because only $80.5 million has been approved so far — and they questioned whether the state would follow through and live up to its commitments during the next decade.