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Gov. Brown Accused Of Behind-The-Scenes Manipulation In Vote Of Water Tunnel Project

/in , /by /89.3 KPCC (Pasadena)by Sharon McNary

Two nonprofit groups are accusing Gov. Jerry Brown of improperly working with Metropolitan Water District board directors behind the scenes to put pressure on a key vote for a massive water tunnel project. The groups claim board members violated open meeting laws as they pressed for a yes on a massive project to move water from tunnels under the Sacramento Bay Delta. The accusations potentially call , call into question a recent vote moving the project forward.

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Environment Report: Water Authority’s Gripes Range From Major To Petty

/in , /by /Voice Of San Diegoby Ry Rivard Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

In 2012, the San Diego County Water Authority launched an unusual website to attack Southern California’s largest supplier of water, the Metropolitan Water District. The website, “MWD Facts,” featured information that was often superficially accurate — it usually came from Metropolitan’s own documents — but presented in a slanted or incomplete way. While it made a splash when it was first posted, the campaign never picked up much steam: Only 253 people followed the MWD Facts Twitter account, if that’s any indication of its popularity.

 

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Debate Emerges Over How To Cover Costs For Oroville Spillway Repair

/in , /by /KRCR News Channel (Redding)by Trevor Fay

On May 8, phase two of reconstruction will begin on the Oroville Dam Spillway, but as more repairs take place, the bills are stacking up. Fixing the Oroville Dam Spillway is something everyone is in favor of, but how to pay for it is a different matter. Some politicians and residents from the Northstate have said they don’t want the federal government to “bail out” California for the cost of spillway repairs. Andrew Giles, a citizen of Oroville, says he doesn’t trust the state or local officials will use the money responsibly.

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Ballot Measure Aims To Preserve Salton Sea, Help Air Quality

/in , /by /KPBS

A project to protect Californians who live near the Salton Sea from deteriorating air quality could sink or swim based on the outcome of a June ballot measure. Proposition 68 would allow the state to borrow $4 billion through bonds to fund parks and environmental protection projects, including $200 million for a plan to preserve the rapidly shrinking Salton Sea. California’s largest lake has been evaporating since San Diego’s regional water agency stopped sending it water this year. Falling water levels increase the lake’s salinity and expose thousands of acres of dusty lakebed, which wind sweeps into nearby farming communities.

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Assembly Member Garcia Hosts State Hearing To Ensure The Successful Implementation Of The Salton Sea Management Plan

/in , /by /Imperial Valley News

Tuesday morning, Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife will host a Salton Sea Oversight Hearing in order to ensure the successful implementation of the Salton Sea Management Plan. “In our efforts to mitigate the Salton Sea, it is paramount to bridge together the perspectives of local stakeholders with state agencies so that we can move forward with a game plan to guarantee the successful implementation of the Salton Sea Management Plan,” stated Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia.

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One Stretch Of River Could Decide Shasta Dam’s Future

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler

The final stretch of the McCloud River before it empties into the state’s largest reservoir is a place of raw beauty. On a recent morning, the river’s icy water, flanked by flowering dogwood trees and jagged rock formations, flowed fast and clean. This part of the McCloud is off limits to almost everyone except a few Native Americans and some well-heeled fly fishermen. Its gatekeeper is an unlikely one, an organization that also happens to be a hugely controversial player in California water politics.

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BLOG: Improving Urban Water Conservation In California

/in , /by /California WaterBlogby Erik Porse

The relatively dry 2017-18 winter in California resurfaced recent memories of drought conservation mandates. From 2013-16, urban water utilities complied with voluntary, then mandatory, water use limits as part of Executive Order B-37-16. Urban water utilities met a statewide 25% conservation target (24.9%), helping the state weather severe drought. Winter rains in 2016-17 led to a reprieve from mandatory conservation. Freed from statewide requirements, urban water agencies ended mandatory cutbacks by meeting “stress tests” that included several years of secured water supplies. A useful outcome of the 2013-17 drought period was long-needed reporting data on monthly urban water use and conservation.

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OPINION: Recharging Groundwater Reserves, Not Building New Reservoirs, Is Key To California’s Water Future

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times

To the editor: Your editorial, “California is dammed enough already,” raises some important points about improving our water future. The state faces a chronic problem that will only get worse with climate change: depleted groundwater supplies. Groundwater is the lifeline communities and farmers turn to in drought. The good news is there’s an untapped solution under our feet called groundwater recharge, which is much cheaper than building new surface reservoirs, has few environmental hurdles and can be implemented relatively quickly. There’s also three times more water storage capacity underground than in all of California’s surface reservoirs combined.

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OPINION: How Colorado River Basin States Can Improve Water Efficiency

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Mary Ann Dickinson

These are difficult times on the Colorado River. Diminishing flows and population growth are exacerbating the already contentious Colorado River allocations among the Colorado River Basin states. To move forward, state-level legal frameworks will have to be strong and comprehensive to ensure that water from existing allocations is conserved, and that states are prepared for the inevitable climate-induced shortages. While efforts around these issues are in play in varying degrees among the Colorado River Basin states, there is still a lot of strengthening that can be done.

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OPINION: Invest In Watershed Improvements, Not Taller Dams

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Laurie Wayburn

There is broad consensus that California’s water challenges are only going to get worse as climate change continues. We will have more drought, more major rain events with consequent flooding and more uncertainty. In this era of global warming, we need new approaches to help solve our water problems. The Trump administration proposal to raise the Shasta Dam by 18½ feet, along with the recent vote by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to support the delta tunnels, illustrate our complete and outmoded dependence on built infrastructure to provide water.

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