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Court Rules Metropolitan Water Rates to San Diego Will Remain

The California Supreme Court denied a petition by the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) September 27 to review an appellate court ruling in a case over rates set by the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, according to the SDCWA website. For years, San Diego water officials argued the region’s major supplier of water, the Metropolitan Water District overcharged to deliver water to San Diego from the Colorado River. On Wednesday, the state Supreme Court declined to take up the case, leaving a lower court ruling siding with Metropolitan in place, according to the San Diego Voice.

OPINION: Water Policy Leaves California Vulnerable

Water is the Central Valley’s economic lifeblood — of that, there is no doubt. The drought of the last five years has put tremendous pressure on the state’s water allocation systems and shown that they are not only broken but incapable of adapting to the realities of a sustained drought cycle. But, why should people in Southern California and Orange County care if water is not available to the Central Valley and agricultural production goes away?

 

Researchers Map Wells Across The West And Estimate 1 Out Of Every 30 Has Gone Dry

During California’s severe five-year drought, groundwater levels fell to record lows and people in farming communities from Tulare County to Paso Robles saw their wells go dry.  Now researchers have analyzed records for about 2 million wells across 17 western states from Texas to Oregon, and they estimate that one out of every 30 wells was dry between 2013 and 2015.  The researchers also found dry wells were concentrated in farming areas such as California’s Central Valley and the High Plains. In some areas, they estimated that up to one-fifth of wells were dry.

OPINION: Harmful Water Bills Held Over… A Momentary Flicker of Hope For Water Users

At some point in the early morning hours of Saturday, September 16, 2017, the California Legislative Session ended with a flicker of hope for there being some sanity, rational thought and common sense about water in the Capital City, Sacramento. Three bills, SB 623, (Monning – Carmel, CA), SB 606 (Hertzberg – Van Nuys, CA) and AB 1668 (Friedman – Glendale, CA) all failed passage and will be held over as two year bills to be taken back up in 2018. So why is this important to you?

San Luis Rey Water Settlement: Tribes, Cities Are Now ‘Joined At The Hip’

On Monday, one time antagonists of a 50-year battle in the courts over right rights, who eventually became friends and allies, celebrated the San Luis Rey Indian Water Rights Settlement. They included representatives of the Rincon, Pala, Pauma, San Pasqual and La Jolla tribes, the City of Escondido, Vista Irrigation District and the San Luis Rey Indian Water Authority, whose chairman is Bo Mazzetti, chairman of the Rincon tribe.