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Two North County Districts Contemplating Exit From The San Diego County Water Authority

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby J. Harry Jones Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Two water districts in northern San Diego County are exploring the possibility of leaving the San Diego County Water Authority and buying their water instead from an agency in southern Riverside County, a move one district says could save it as much as $6 million annually. It is the first time in the Water Authority’s 75-year history that such a move has been considered by any of its 24 member agencies, officials say, and it likely would be challenged. Both the Rainbow Municipal Water District and the Fallbrook Public Utility Department have been discussing the move for several months. A lawyer for the Water Authority read a public statement at the authority’s most recent board meeting on May 23, making it public knowledge.

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Water, Water Everywhere: Good And Bad Of California’s Rising Reservoir Levels

/in , , /by /Fox KTVUby Tom Vacar

Use it or lose it” is what state and federal water managers in California are wrestling with as one of the biggest precipitation years has the mountains packed with snow and reservoirs loaded to the brim. For the state, water is liquid gold that feeds many people, animals, trees, and industries. But, if not well managed, it can also present great danger.

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California Has Too Much Solar Power. That Might Be Good For Ratepayers

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

California set two renewable energy records last week: the most solar power ever flowing on the state’s main electric grid, and the most solar power ever taken offline because it wasn’t needed. There’s no contradiction: As California utilities buy more and more solar power as part of the state’s quest to confront climate change, supply and demand are increasingly out of sync. The state’s fleet of solar farms and rooftop panels frequently generate more electricity than Californians use during the middle of the day — a phenomenon that has sent lawmakers and some climate advocates scrambling to find ways to save the extra sunlight rather than let it go to waste.

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Understanding the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

/in , /by /Benito Linkby Shawn Novack

In the midst of our most recent and severe drought, perhaps the most significant legislative water initiative in California in half a century was passed and signed into law, it is entitled: the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (SGMA). The 2014 law provides a framework for sustainable management of groundwater resources by local authorities. Water sustainability efforts ensure that adequate amounts of high-quality water supply will continue to be available in the future. The integrated management of water resources is a delicate balancing act that aims to maximize the economic and social benefits that water resources provide while maintaining aquatic ecosystems.

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Protecting The Watershed

/in , /by /News-Review (Sacramento)by Meredith J. Cooper

Everyone has heard it a million times by now: The Camp Fire was the most destructive fire in California’s history. But that’s only taking into consideration man-made structures. What about the natural landscape—and, in particular, our waterways? To echo the mantra of 2017’s Standing Rock protest, “Water is life.” That was what brought many people out to Chico State’s University Farm Tuesday (June 4) for the daylong Camp Fire Water Resources Monitoring and Research Symposium. Organized by the University of California Cooperative Extension, it included presentations from researchers who have been studying fire’s impact on ecosystems, in particular ground and surface water.

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In Quest for Bigger Batteries, California Mulls Century-Old Idea

/in , , /by /Bloomberg by David R Baker Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

As the sun sets on California’s solar farms, a backup energy source deep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains springs to life. The huge system of reservoirs and turbines can store energy during the day and then crank out electricity for 900,000 homes, using just water and gravity.

As the state tries to make wind and solar work around the clock, officials want to build more like it. It won’t be easy: such projects take years to develop, are expensive and face stiff opposition.he push by California and other states to revive the century-old technology — called “pumped-hydro storage” — underscores the limitations of modern batteries.

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