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

Tunnel Vision: What’s Next for the Governor’s Plan to Replumb the Delta?

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

California water officials are poised to release the first environmental review of a controversial project to replumb the Delta — a plan in the works for decades that has alternately been called a water grab or a critical update to shore up state supplies.

Known as the Delta Conveyance Project, a tunnel supported by Gov. Gavin Newsom would take water from the Sacramento River and bypass the vast Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, funneling the flows directly to pumps in the south Delta or straight to Bethany Reservoir at the northern end of the California Aqueduct.

Full Story

Opinion: Summertime Is No Cure for the Environmental Blues

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens

News about the environment rarely is good these days, but a string of grim developments locally, regionally and internationally cast a particular pall over the otherwise sunny arrival of summer.

Beaches from Imperial Beach north to Coronado were closed because of sewage discharges from Tijuana. The Colorado River’s reservoirs are so low that severe water cuts are on the horizon for much of the southwestern United States. And another climate conference, this one in Germany, pretty much went nowhere.

Full Story

Santa Fe Irrigation District Sets Additional Drought Restrictions

/in , /by /Rancho Santa Fe Reviewby Karen Billing

The Santa Fe Irrigation District has adopted its Drought Response Level 2 reduction actions in order to meet state guidelines for water conservation. The board made its decision at the June 16 meeting.

“Drought and water-use efficiency are a way of life for all Californians and our local communities,” said Michael Hogan, SFID board president in a news release.

Full Story

IID’s Hanks Issues Statement on Solutions to Drought

/in , , /by /Imperial Valley Pressby Elizabeth Mayoral Corpus

The Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors, James C. Hanks, shared in a statement on Thursday, regarding the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton’s testimony on June 14 before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on the severity of the Colorado River drought and the need for short- and long-term drought solutions across the West.

“The current hydrological conditions on the Colorado River, which have entered the third decade of unprecedented drought, are well known and are not going unnoticed,” said Hanks. “Over the past two decades, Imperial Valley growers have been using less water while working to meet the nation’s food supply needs, conserving over 7 million acre-feet in support of the Colorado River and California water supplies.”

Full Story

Erica Wolski Hired as Ramona Water District’s New General Manager

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Julie Gallant

Erica Wolski, a former senior technical manager at Woodard & Curran, is the new general manager at Ramona Municipal Water District.

Wolski, 44, who starts in the position on Wednesday, has been a Ramona resident since 2019 and a San Diegan since 2010. She said she is looking forward to helping the water district develop its transparency and customer engagement.

Full Story

Ramona Water District Moves Forward With Emergency Services Transfer, Approves Two-Year Budget

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Julie Gallant Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Ramona Municipal Water District reported on the status of transferring the district’s oversight of fire and emergency medical services to the county and approved a two-year budget at the June 14 meeting.

The two topics are intertwined because transferring fire and EMS services to the San Diego County Fire Protection District would likely free up discretionary funds available from property taxes to spend on water, fire and parks services, said the water district board’s President Jim Hickle.

Full Story

Marin Grand Jury Report Blasts Water Supply Planning

/in , /by /Marin Independent Journalby Will Houston

The Marin Municipal Water District has failed to adequately prepare for severe drought and should create a four-year water supply, the Marin civil grand jury said in a new report.

Last year, the district faced depleting local reservoir supplies as soon as summer 2022. While rains in late 2021 nearly refilled reservoirs, the drought “exposed serious shortcomings” in the district’s ability to offer a reliable water supply and has shaken public confidence in the district’s leadership, the report states.

Full Story

Clean Energy, Water Projects Get Boost in Spending Bill

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Jeremy Dillon and Hannah Northey

House Democrats’ $56.3 billion fiscal 2023 Energy-Water spending bill released last night seeks to bolster a host of Biden administration clean energy and water infrastructure deployment goals that are running into funding limitations this year.

In total, the bill’s topline number would represent an increase of $3.4 billion above the fiscal year 2022 level, including $48.2 billion for the Department of Energy, $8.9 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers and $1.9 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation.

Full Story

Why Summer Fires in California Are So Dangerous

/in , /by /The New York Timesby Soumya Karlamangla

It’s almost July, which is typically the beginning of California’s fire season.

You’ve probably heard that wildfires in the Golden State have increasingly become a year-round danger, no longer limited to a few months a year. But even still, the start of the traditional summer-and-fall fire season brings a slew of heightened risks for us to contend with.

Full Story
Olivenhain Municipal Water District Logo landscape design workshops

Encinitas Residents Asked to Step-Up and Conserve Water

/in , /by

Encinitas, Calif.  — As California enters its third consecutive dry year and following the driest first three months of a year in the state’s recorded history, Governor Gavin Newsom and the State Water Resources Control Board took steps to drive water conservation at the local level, calling on local water suppliers to take locally appropriate actions that will conserve water across all sectors.

In response, the Olivenhain Municipal Water District and San Dieguito Water District are asking Encinitas residents to step-up and assist Californians across the state in dealing with the drought.

Download File