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Oroville Dam: DWR ‘Can’t Say With Certainty’ Whether Spillway Ramp Will Reopen

The state Department of Water Resources intends to open the spillway boat launch ramp after construction at the dam is complete, but there is a possibility it will stay out of commission, according to a department official. The spillway boat launch is the largest on the lake, with up to 12 lanes when the water is high enough. DWR confirmed the ramp may remain closed indefinitely for the first time in a press call on Oct. 4.

Brown Administration Says It’s Willing to Consider One-Tunnel Approach to Delta Project

Silicon Valley’s water district Wednesday rejected Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to build twin tunnels beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta but said it would support a smaller, less expensive project. A top state official said the Brown administration is willing to consider such an approach. The Santa Clara Valley Water District’s board voted 7-0 to give the Delta plan “conditional support,” but only if it involves one tunnel instead of two. The board’s vote indicated the district would be willing eventually to commit more than $200 million to the project. That’s well below the $600 million or more in support it had been considering.

Santa Clara Valley Water District Rejects Jerry Brown’s Twin Delta Tunnels Plan

In a landmark vote closely watched across California, Silicon Valley’s largest water agency on Tuesday rejected Gov. Jerry Brown’s $17 billion plan to build two giant tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. By a vote of 7-0, the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s board of directors chose instead to adopt a set of principles endorsing a significantly smaller, less costly project — with just one tunnel. “What magnitude of project makes sense?” asked board member Barbara Keegan. “From our perspective that looks to be something less than originally was envisioned.”

OPINION: Poseidon desalination plant a super-costly, horrifically polluting bad water solution

In the wake of the drought, California has made tremendous progress on climate-smart water solutions. But even as communities are forging ahead with recapture and reuse projects, we are seeing a gold rush of corporate water projects designed to profit off drought fears. Poseidon’s Orange County desalination plant is a prime example. This Wall Street water company and its lobbyists are using every trick in the book to sell their unnecessary and irresponsible project. That is because the billion-dollar boondoggle can’t stand on its own merits.

San Diego’s Been Losing a Century-Long Battle Against Poop

San Diego’s battle against hepatitis A has focused new attention on a very old, very San Diego problem: feces. It’s a battle the region has repeatedly lost. Excrement from the canyons in Tijuana and from our own toilets and streets has bedeviled the region since western civilization took up roots here. Things had been looking up. Sewage spills are down ten-fold from 20 years ago. Litigious environmental lawyers who once haunted the city had moved on.

San Diego Borrowing $1.7B for Ambitious Water Recycling Plan

San Diego launched on Tuesday its application for $1.7 billion in low-interest state loans to pay for an ambitious plan to boost the city’s water independence by recycling treated sewage into drinking water. Seeking such loans will soften hikes in sewer and water rates San Diego officials say will be necessary to pay for the Pure Water recycling system, which is expected to be complete by 2035. The loans are expected to carry interest rates of less than 2 percent, compared to about 5 percent for typical sewer and water projects that aren’t eligible for money from the state’s clean water revolving loan fund.