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Reforms Still Needed to Curtail MWD Spending

/in /by /San Diego Business Journal by Mark Muir

Treated water rates set by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California have doubled over the past decade, due in part to unrestrained fiscal practices at the agency. Ratepayers are about to be on the hook for a lot more unless MWD’s out-of-control spending can be stopped. The Los Angeles-based district is the nation’s largest water agency, serving nearly 20 million people across Southern California. In San Diego County, our reliance on MWD water has been reduced by more than half over the past few decades due to strategic investments in dough-resilient water supplies.

Metropolitan Water District Authorizes Lake Mathews Infrastructure Rehabilitation Projects

/in /by /Valley News (Temecula)by Joe Naiman

The March 14 board meeting of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California included the approval of three infrastructure rehabilitation projects at Lake Mathews. One project will rehabilitate the electrical distribution system at Lake Mathews, a second project will repair the Lake Mathews forebay and the third project will repair portions of the hydroelectric plant’s concrete structure. The projects are intended to address the aging infrastructure of Lake Mathews and to maintain reliable deliveries into MWD’s Central Pool.

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Wintry Spring Storm Slams California With Snow, Heavy Winds

/in /by /CBS Sacramento

A storm that delivered a body blow to Northern California, endangering homes and leaving 40,000 customers without electricity, rolled through the Central Coast Friday toward Los Angeles. The weather system dumped fractions of an inch of rain in San Luis Obispo County but Rocky Butte, a summit near San Simeon, received nearly 5 inches over 24 hours. Rain was expected to continue shifting slowly southward before the system finally tapers off late Saturday.

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FPUD Board And Audience Given Briefing On Conjunctive Use Project

/in /by /Fallbrook and Bonsall Village Newsby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The non-voting items at the Feb. 27 Fallbrook Public Utility District (FPUD) board meeting included a presentation on the Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project. FPUD assistant general manager Jack Bebee provided the presentation on the Conjunctive Use Project which will be the subject of FPUD votes for specific actions over the next several months. “It was just to give some background on the project because we have a new board member,” said Bebee.

 

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To Save Water, Some Arizona Farms Temporarily Cut Production

/in /by /Arizona Daily Starby Tony Davis Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

For four Indian tribes that grow melons, wheat, cotton, onions and alfalfa near the Colorado River, fallowing cropland will bring extra money. It will also get the Colorado River Indian Tribes’ name out as a water player, part of the solution to the Southwest’s water shortages. And, says Tribal Councilwoman Amelia Flores, it’s a way to get other cropland into production and to upgrade their irrigation equipment.

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Oceanside Front Yard Gets WaterSmart Makeover

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Chris Ross Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Oceanside homeowner Richard Jaross had two motivations for rethinking his front yard’s landscaping. It was mostly lawn that was not thriving, because of water restrictions. And, to make matters worse, a family of rabbits was eating and digging up the turf. So, when Jaross, who lives in the Vista San Luis Rey neighborhood of north Oceanside, read in the U-T about free WaterSmart landscaping courses offered by the San Diego County Water Authority, he decided to educate himself about drought-tolerant gardens.

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Water Authority Applauds Gov. Brown for Declaring Drought’s End

/in /by /Times of San Diegoby Cassia Pollock Mentioned: San Diego County’s Water Authority

Governor Jerry Brown ended the drought state of emergency in most of California Friday, garnering praise from San Diego County’s Water Authority. Record-breaking rainfall helped create a dramatic improvement in water supplies. Heavy rains fell across California this winter, including record-breaking precipitation in San Diego County, according to the Water Authority. State agencies also issued a plan to make conservation a  way of life in California. Governor Brown says this will include new legislation to improve planning for severe droughts and establishing long-term water conservation measures.

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Permanent Water Conservation Rules Coming To San Diego, Rest Of State

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

After one of the wettest winters on record, Gov. Jerry Brown declared Friday that California’s historic drought is officially over for all but a handful of areas in the Central Valley. But after five years of severely dry conditions, California also is pressing forward with a dramatic overhaul of its conservation ethic for farms to cityscapes. This long-term framework for water conservation includes everything from minimizing pipe leaks, to requiring water suppliers to develop drought contingency plans, to submitting monthly data, to meeting permanent conservation targets.

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San Diego County’s 10 Worst-Funded Pension Plans

/in /by /Voice of San Diegoby Ashly McGlone

San Diego’s county and city pension funds are losing ground in their pursuit of a fully funded plan, but 10 other local government pension plans are just as bad or worse off. The Valley Center Municipal Water District, Otay Water District, city of El Cajon’s safety plan, the city of San Marcos and six other local pension plans are only 60 to 70 percent funded. That means the agencies lack 30 to 40 percent of the money ultimately needed to fulfill retirement promises for current and former employees, data from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System shows.

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California’s Drought Is Finally Over, But Its Legacy Will Live On

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Joseph Serna and Shelby Grad

It wasn’t that long ago that many wondered whether California’s drought would ever end. For five years, the state endured significantly less rain than normal, cutting into the water supply and forcing the state to impose strict limits on water use. That officially ended Friday when Gov. Jerry Brown declared the drought over. So how did the drought end? That seemed pretty quick. The turning point began last winter, when Northern California began to see a significant uptick in rain. Then, this winter, the north had one of the wettest seasons on record.

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