You are now in California and the U.S. Media Coverage category.

OPINION: SF, State Must Compromise On Water Restriction Plan

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco has maintained water rights to the Tuolumne River, a pristine source that originates high in the Sierra Nevada, since the early 1900s. Now, those rights are being threatened by a state proposal to rescue the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The state’s plan, which was first proposed in October 2016 and released as a final draft last month, would increase water flows to the Tuolumne and other rivers that support the delta.

Full Story

Why San Francisco Is Joining Valley Farmers In A Fight Over Precious California Water

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

Originating in a glacier at the eastern edge of Yosemite, the Tuolumne River runs into a man-made roadblock in the towering granite cliffs of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. A massive concrete dam captures its icy water and ships much of it through pipes and tunnels to the residents of San Francisco. Farther downstream, the Tuolumne is halted again, this time by a dam in the oak-covered Sierra foothills. From there, a network of canals spreads the Tuolumne’s waters over mile after mile of rich San Joaquin Valley vineyards, orchards and dairy farms.

Full Story

California Water Wars: State Plans To Cut SF’s Sierra Supply To Save Delta

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

The cold, rushing water of the Tuolumne River, piped from the high peaks of Yosemite to the taps of Bay Area residents, is not only among the nation’s most pristine municipal water sources but extraordinarily plentiful. This point of pride for San Francisco, which has maintained rights to the cherished Sierra supply since the early 1900s, is being threatened, however. Under a far-reaching state plan to bump up flows in California’s rivers, the city would be forced to limit its draws from the Tuolumne for the first time in recent memory.

Full Story

OPINION: Stop The State From Wreaking Even More Havoc On Delta’s Economy

/in , /by /Manteca / Ripon Bulletin

Over the past decade, San Joaquin County and Delta stakeholders have spent thousands of hours fighting the Governor’s Twin Tunnels project, officially called WaterFix.  This water transfer plan would have a disastrous effect on the agricultural industry in the region, and estimated costs have ballooned to $20+ billion. Unfortunately, the State is now pursuing yet another devastating water grab that is quietly making its way through the regulatory process. The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) will soon consider Phase 1 of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Plan update (Revised Plan).

Full Story

Water Main Break Leaves More Than 100 San Marcos Homes Without Water

/in , /by /NBC7

A water main break in San Marcos has left more than 100 homes Coronado Hills residents without water, Vallecitos Water confirmed. All homes east of Indian Ridge are out of water, Vallecitos said. The break happened at Indian Ridge and Washitonia around 7 a.m. Vallecitos crews are excavating the site to get down to the break – which takes time, Vallecitos said, as crews have to jackhammer through granite. and expect wear to be restored around 2 a.m. Monday. The cause of the break is unknown at this time.

Full Story

Stanislaus, Merced County Opponents Gear For Water Rally At Capitol On Monday

/in , /by /The Modesto Beeby Ken Carlson

Opponents of a state “water grab” are taking their political battle to the steps of the state Capitol building in Sacramento on Monday. From 500 to 1,000 people are expected at a rally to protest a state water board plan to double the amount of water taken from the Tuolumne River to improve water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta and restore fish populations. The plan, also to take additional water from the Stanislaus and Merced rivers, is opposed by irrigation districts and cities that predict devastating effects on agriculture and the economy in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

Full Story

OPINION: The Twin Tunnels Are Best Water Fix For California

/in , /by /Pasadena Star-Newsby Charles Wilson, Tracy Hernandez, and John Hakel

Let’s start with this: California WaterFix, Gov. Brown’s $17 billion twin-tunnels project, is the best and most affordable long-term solution to our great state’s water woes. If we’re going to call it a time machine, we should acknowledge it will transport us to a brighter future, where there’s clean, reliable water for generations to come. The boondoggle rhetoric that has recently appeared in these pages is classic political redirection. Opponents have been serving up nonsense for more than a decade in hopes of derailing California WaterFix.

Full Story

City Bans Private Wells Pending New Groundwater Plan

/in , /by /Santa Monica Daily Pressby Mathew Hall

The City of Santa Monica has temporarily outlawed construction of new private wells in the city while staff work towards adoption of a new set of rules governing the use of groundwater. Council approved a measure banning new construction or expansion of existing wells at their August 14 meeting until the City adopts a comprehensive groundwater management plan that specifically allows such construction. A Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) is required by California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and Santa Monica is in the midst of drafting the rules in partnership with City of Culver City, City of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the County of Los Angeles.

Full Story

Water Service Shut-Off Bill Opposed by Water Authority

/in , /by by Water News Network staff Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

A coalition of organizations, including the San Diego County Water Authority, is opposing proposed state legislation that would change existing water service shut-off procedures used by public water agencies when customers become significantly delinquent on water bill payments.

Senate Bill 998 by Senator Bill Dodd (Napa) would replace current shut-off processes, which are tailored by local water districts to meet the needs of their agency customers. Despite the absence of state data showing current policies create a significant problem in California, the bill would impose a new “one-size-fits-all” statewide program.

The bill, should it become law, would prevent service shut-offs for at least 60 days for delinquent customers; create a cap on reconnection fees that may or may not cover the associated costs; trigger Proposition 218 concerns for public water agencies; and expand authority of the State Water Resources Control Board and the Attorney General to enforce provisions of the bill.

SB 998 would effectively force agencies to subsidize the cost of providing service to delinquent customers. Agencies could be compelled to decrease their level of service to customers who have been paying in a timely manner by diverting resources to non-paying customers because the bill does not provide sufficient additional revenue to cover related costs.

While SB 998 is intended to assist residents with financial hardship, the bill fails to account for other disadvantaged customers, including seniors and the disabled, whose rates could increase as a result.

Another impact of SB 998 would be diverting resources from local health departments to preventing water service shut-offs, instead of the many critical services they currently provide to children, seniors and others. Despite its intent, SB 998 would harm ratepayers’ rights to safe and affordable drinking water – a violation of the “human right to water” adopted by the state.

The Water Authority’s Board of Directors is on record opposing SB 998 and its cost-shifting policies, as is the Association of California Water Agencies.

 

OPINION: Sacramento’s New Way To Tax The Water You Drink

/in , /by /Inland Valley Daily Bulletinby Susan Shelly

Another new tax is headed for your water bill, as if it wasn’t high enough already. Gov. Jerry Brown has been trying to push through a statewide tax on drinking water, the first ever in California history, and as you might imagine, it has been a challenge for him. People are fed up with new taxes. That was demonstrated very convincingly in the June recall of state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton.

Full Story