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Future Uncertain For Shasta Dam Raising After Irrigation District Stops Work On Study

Following losses in court, a Fresno-based irrigation district has backed off its plans to do an environmental study on raising the height of Shasta Dam.

The Westlands Water District announced Monday that it has stopped working on the report because it could not meet the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s schedule for the project.

The bureau is trying to get non-federal partners to help pay half the cost of the $1.4 billion project to raise the height of the dam 18½ feet.

Recycled Water Now Flows Through Repurposed Agricultural Pipeline Benefiting Area’s Watershed

Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, Riverside County Flood and Water Conservation District and the City of Lake Elsinore recently celebrated the transformation of an abandoned agricultural pipeline that has now been converted to move water from EVMWD’s Regional Water Reclamation Facility into Lake Elsinore. The supplemental recycled water provides an additional source of water for the lake.

Where Animals And Plants Might Survive Climate Change

Scientists are searching for pockets of ecological resistance in the face of climate change, places that seem to be warming less quickly than others due to unique natural conditions.

The hope is that as the earth continues to get hotter, these “climate refugia” could serve as strongholds for plants and animals

For a decade, scientists have been studying this phenomenon in a steep mountain valley in the Sierra Nevada. Devils Postpile National Monument is known for its distinct geologic formations, where the crumbling columns of rock from an ancient lava bed resemble, well, a pile of posts.

Commentary: California Must Embrace Groundwater Management, And Expand It

We all walk on water. Not literally, but most Californians do walk over the water stored in the aquifers beneath our feet.

This unseen resource is groundwater, which provides 40% of our water supply in normal years, and up to 60% of our supply in times of drought.

With dry periods expected to increase in frequency and duration, groundwater is key to creating a more resilient water supply for drinking water, producing food, and sustaining our precious natural resources. Yet despite its importance, groundwater use in California has been largely unregulated.

Will Cal Fire’s Plan to Rip Out Vegetation in San Diego Lead to an Explosion in Flammable Invasive Grasses?

Highly flammable nonnative plants have increasingly played a major role in Southern California’s struggles with wildfire — providing kindling along roadsides and around homes that turn sparks into menacing backcountry blazes.

San Diego firefighting officials plan to dramatically ramp up efforts to rip out vegetation, both native and invasive, surrounding remote communities as part of a statewide campaign to prevent tragedies such as the Camp Fire in Paradise.

The Interior Secretary Wants to Enlarge a Dam. An Old Lobbying Client Would Benefit.

For years, the Interior Department resisted proposals to raise the height of its towering Shasta Dam in Northern California. The department’s own scientists and researchers concluded that doing so would endanger rare plants and animals in the area, as well as the bald eagle, and devastate the West Coast’s salmon industry downstream.

Templeton Community Services District Celebrates New Drought-Resistant Water Supply Project

The Templeton Community Services District celebrated the completion of its new drought-resistant water supply project at a ribbon-cutting held on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

The project, called the Upper Salinas River Basin Conjunctive Use Project (US-CUP) captures existing wastewater flows generated within the eastside of the District and will return these flows back to the Meadowbrook Wastewater Treatment Plant (MWWTP). The wastewater undergoes treatment and is then discharged into the river alluvium that contains the Salinas River underflow providing subsequent conveyance to District wells that divert from the underflow downstream.

‘Historic’ Winter Storm Dumps 3 Feet of Snow, Smashes Records in West

One week after summer’s end, a “winter” storm began blasting parts of the West with up to 3 feet of snow, smashing records with low temperatures, heavy snow, strong winds and blizzard conditions forecast into Monday.

Snow was piling up across parts of California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Nevada and Utah. The National Weather Service, calling the storm “historic,” said temperatures in some areas would drop as much as 30 degrees below normal.

Proposed Clairemont Dr Restriping for Bike Lane & Potential Southbound Vehicle Lane Removal

On Thursday 9/26 the Parking, Transportation & Mobility sub-committee of the Clairemont Community Planning Group met with one item Action/Review item on the Agenda:

  1. Clairemont Dr. Bike Lane Striping (Everett Hauser, City of San Diego)

In conjunction with the City’s Pure Water Project, Mr Hauser will present 3 different options to remove between 5 to 31 street parking spaces along Clairemont Dr. to add striping for a Bike Lane in each direction of travel.

Olivenhain Municipal Water District Logo landscape design workshops

OMWD Honored for Government Transparency and Sound Financial Practices

Encinitas, Calif. —The Special District Leadership Foundation recognized Olivenhain Municipal Water District today at California Special Districts Association’s annual conference in Anaheim for a sixth “District of Distinction” biennial accreditation. This recognition celebrates OMWD’s sound fiscal management and commitment to transparency in all areas of its operations.