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Public Opinion Split On Cat Canyon Aquifer Exemption

/in , /by /Santa Maria Sunby Zac Ezzone

Hundreds of people filled the Santa Maria Veterans Memorial Building on June 5 to voice their opinion on a proposed aquifer exemption that would expand the area in Cat Canyon where oil companies can build injection wells. Some environmental activists and students pushed back on the proposal during the hearing, while some local ranchers and labor unions encouraged the California Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) to move the exemption forward. DOGGR and other state agencies are considering recommending that the Environmental Protection Agency approve the expansion.

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California And Water: Half Environmental Nightmare, Half Remarkable Success Story

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Gary Krist

When delegates to the second International Irrigation Congress convened in Los Angeles in October 1893, pessimism about their mission was not supposed to be on the agenda. The gathering, after all, was meant to encourage reclamation of arid lands throughout the American West, using irrigation to transform an immense wasteland into an agriculturally productive cornucopia. Thus the reaction when John Wesley Powell rose and delivered his now-famous caveat about the limits of development in the region. “Gentlemen,” he told the delegates in the Grand Opera House, “there is not sufficient water to supply these lands.” The gentlemen responded by booing the esteemed explorer off the stage.

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OPINION: What Is Sustainable Groundwater Management?

/in , , /by /Coastal View (Carpinteria, Calif.)by Erin Maker

Someone recently asked me about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and how it will affect our community. I didn’t have an immediate answer for that, since I am still learning about it. But it seemed like a good opportunity to dive into the world of groundwater management and review the history that has led us to the SGMA. I would still refer technical questions of sustainable groundwater management to the very knowledgeable folks over at the Carpinteria Valley Water District.

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Huge Water Rate Hike Approved By East Bay MUD

/in , /by /Patch (New York)

East Bay Municipal Utility District directors voted 5-1 on Tuesday to approve a water rate increase totaling nearly 13 percent over the next two years. The board’s vote means that the water agency’s 1.4 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties will face a 6.5 percent rate hike on July 1 and another 6.25 percent hike on July 1, 2020. The rate hikes follow an increase of nearly 20 percent over the past two years.

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New Plan To Safeguard Russian River Targets Contamination From Human And Animal Waste

/in , /by /The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.)by Mary Callahan

An on-again, off-again effort by state regulators to better protect the Russian River and its tributaries against failing septic systems, livestock waste and other potential sources of bacterial contamination is in its final stages, with hopes that an action plan for the entire watershed will be approved this August and go into effect next year. The move, controversial and closely watched in years past, could impose stricter regulations and mandatory septic system upgrades on thousands of landowners with properties near the river or its connected waterways.

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San Diego County Quality Of Life Indicators Mostly Positive In 2018

/in , /by /Water News Network

A report released today showed improvement in 2018 for the majority of 15 indicators used to measure San Diego County’s quality of life. The Equinox Project Quality of Life Dashboard measures and benchmarks several environmental and economic trends throughout the region. The analysis highlighted the San Diego County Water Authority for developing water solutions for San Diego and the Southwest using a “portfolio approach.” One of the initiatives under that approach includes efforts to store water in Lake Mead on the Colorado River, which would benefit both San Diego County residents and many other river users.

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OPINION: How Coronado Is Advocating For Tijuana Sewage Solutions

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Richard Bailey

Last week, representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, International Boundary and Water Commission, and other federal offices gathered in Coronado to address one of the most pressing environmental issues in our region — solutions to the Tijuana sewage problem and the resulting contamination that regularly inundates San Diego County beaches. Since early 2018, the city of Coronado has played a significant role in advocating for funding for water quality improvement projects in the border zone, including Tijuana and points south.

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OPINION: Faulconer’s Welcome Housing Plan Also Helps With Climate Change

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

In the state Capitol, the response to California’s chronic housing shortage this year has been hugely disappointing. A bold proposal to make it easier to put up new apartment buildings and condos near mass transit and in single-family neighborhoods was abruptly killed last month by Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. State lawmakers continue to focus on subsidized “affordable housing” projects despite the years of evidence that this approach does little or nothing to bring down the high cost of housing in the Golden State.

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Helix Water District Board Approves 2019-20 Budget

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

The Helix Water District governing board last week approved an operating budget of nearly $91 million for the 2019-20 fiscal year that begins July 1. The budget includes $11.5 million in capital improvements to keep the water moving through Helix’s 700-plus miles of pipeline, valves, hydrants and meters, and safely stored in tanks at the district’s various plants around East County. Total costs, including capital expenses and water purchases, will go up by about $1.2 million compared to 2018-19.

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Annual San Diego ‘Quality of Life Dashboard’ Shows Improvements In 6 Categories

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

A respected annual quality of life report for San Diego released Wednesday showed improvements in six areas, but declines in four. The biggest issues in this year’s Quality of Life Dashboard were housing affordability and traffic congestion, though slight increases in water use and landfill waste were also noted. “Commuters in 2018 spent more than eight hours extra on the freeways, nearly an hour more than in 2016,” according to the report.

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