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Sites Reservoir Supporters Want $1.6 Billion From Water Bond

/in /by /Capital Public Radio News (Sacramento)
This week is the application deadline for projects requesting funding from the $7.5 billion Proposition 1 water bond that California voters approved in 2014. Supporters of Sites Reservoir, which would be located an hour northwest of Sacramento, say they are asking for $1.6 billion from the bond. That’s more than half of the money in the bond that is set aside for water storage projects in California. At a capacity of 1.8 million acre-feet, it would be the largest reservoir built in California since 1979. An acre foot is about enough water for an average California household for a year.
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LA County Ratepayers Rally Against the Brown/Trump Water-Stealing Delta Tunnels

/in /by /Red, Green, and Blue

This afternoon starting at 2 p.m., MWD will hold a workshop to discuss the release of their financing plan and the projected cost to Los Angeles ratepayers. “Ratepayers will converge at today’s meeting today to protest this unfair rate and tax hike,” according to Brenna Norton of Food & Water Watch in a news advisory. The average L.A. customer would see their water bills rise from $200 to over $393 annually for up to 75 years, according to an independent analysis by EcoNorthwest.

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Feather River Gets New Gravel for Spawning Salmon

/in /by /Chico Enterprise-Record

The state Department of Water Resources is beginning to lay the gravel foundation for spawning salmon. This comes as much of the gravel was washed away with high flows from the Oroville Dam spillway this winter. DWR expects to finish the project by the end of August, in time for the salmon’s spawning season starting in September, according to a press release issued Monday afternoon. Using heavy equipment, an estimated 5,000 cubic yards of gravel will be placed in the Feather River channel behind the Municipal Auditorium.

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Restore the Delta Finds Gaping Holes in MWD White Paper #3

/in /by /YubaNet (Nevada City)

Restore the Delta issued a formal response to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California third and final white paper on the Delta Tunnels. The response illuminates the gaping holes in MWD’s financial analysis on various CA WaterFix costs. Executive Director of Restore the Delta, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla said: “MWD’s failure to analyze water costs in dry and drought years and water use by consumers so as to determine the real cost per household for WaterFix make this analysis invalid. MWD staff clearly wants to build this project so that water can be sold for maximum profit.”

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A Nearly $17-Billion Water Project is Being Planned for California. What Will it Cost the Southland?

/in /by /Los Angeles Times

After years of planning for one of the biggest California water projects in decades, a key question remains unanswered: Who exactly will pay for it? Decision time is approaching for the agencies that will have to pick up the nearly $17-billion tab for building two massive water tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the heart of the state’s water works.

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Farmers Propose Novel Solution to Fight Over Groundwater in Nevada

/in /by /Water Deeply (New York)

When Jake Tibbitts heard rumors about the two cattle shot at Sadler Ranch, it didn’t occur to him that water could be the potential motive, although the rancher would later make that claim. Water is a contentious topic in Eureka County, a tight-knit community of about 2,000 in rural central Nevada where Tibbitts, who oversees the county’s Natural Resources Department, has been working to prevent a vital water source from running dry.

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California WaterFix and Delta Smelt

/in /by /California Water Blog

The delta smelt is on a trajectory towards extinction in the wild. Heading into 2017, the spawning adult population was at an all-time low although this past wet winter has apparently seen a small resurgence. However, increasingly warm summer temperatures in the Delta may dampen any upswing. Given the long-term trajectory of the population and climate predictions for California, maintaining Delta smelt in the Delta for the next 20-30 years is not likely to happen without significant improvements to the habitat.

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OPINION: Temperance Flat Dam Investment Will Pay Off for California

/in /by /The Fresno Beeby Dr. Joaquin Arambula

The winter of 2017 was a gift in many ways. Not only did it bring desperately needed water to California and end a statewide drought emergency, it highlighted the need to build more surface water storage projects like Temperance Flat on the San Joaquin River. California’s investment in water infrastructure has not kept up with the ever-growing demand for water supply. Many aging facilities don’t have the capacity necessary to keep up with our state’s population growth. Friant Dam and Millerton Lake are too small to capture runoff from the massive watershed above it.

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Beautify Your Yard With Free WaterSmart Program

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Pat Setter Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Is your backyard a dirt lot? Do you have a front lawn but would like something more drought-tolerant? If you’re thinking of landscaping as a DIY project or with the help of professionals, check out the San Diego County Water Authority’s WaterSmart Landscape Makeover Program before getting started. Even though this winter’s rain relieved California’s severe drought, saving water is still essential in our dry climate. Water-smart gardens will not only save money by yielding lower water bills, they will be easier to maintain.

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U.S. and Mexico finalizing Colorado River Water-Sharing Deal

/in /by /USA Todayby Ian James

The U.S. and Mexican governments may be sharply at odds on President Trump’s plan for a border wall, but when it comes to water – and the potential for a major shortage along the Colorado River – the two sides seem to be on the same page. Mexican and American officials are finalizing a water-sharing deal for the Colorado River, and a newly released summary of the accord’s key points shows negotiators have agreed on a cooperative approach geared toward boosting reservoir levels and trying to stave off a severe shortage.

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