California’s Central Valley constitutes 1 percent of the agricultural land in the United States yet it harvests nearly a quarter of the nation’s farmed products.
The 50-mile wide, 450-mile-long breadbasket is irrigated by an intricate series of river impoundments and canals that are regulated by federal and state agencies.
Some San Diegans are receiving multiple water bills all at once, and one woman told Team 10 she received 11 bills in the mail with no explanation.
Carol Sveilich said she got the bills in two overstuffed envelopes in early February. “They were filled with bills out of order, all different amounts, but generated on the same day,” Sveilich said. “I was so confused. I thought I owed each amount of each bill.”
Ramona Municipal Water District directors took several steps Tuesday night that will transform the way parks and recreation issues are decided and could improve offerings for residents in the future.
They unanimously agreed to hire a full-time Park and Facilities Coordinator to oversee the operation of Wellfield Park and related facilities. They also authorized the creation of a seven-member Parks and Recreation Community Advisory Committee that will advise the water district on parks and recreation activities.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s Pipeline 5 will be returned to full service after five months of rehabilitation work that runs from April 16 through April 25. The work is necessary to extend the useful life of critical water infrastructure that delivers reliable supplies for the region.
The Water Authority and its member agencies are coordinating to minimize impacts to residents and businesses, while servicing pipelines that are more than 65 years old.
The San Diego County Water Authority supports a consensus-based approach for long-term solutions to water supply issues in the Colorado River Basin. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on April 11 released a draft environmental document that considers changes to near-term operations on the Colorado River, including potential reductions in water supplies for California and across the Lower Colorado River Basin.
A new recycled water pipeline in Encinitas is helping to reduce the region’s dependence on imported water supply. The Olivenhain Municipal Water District, or OMWD, constructed the Manchester Avenue Recycled Water Pipeline Project to expand the availability of recycled water within the City of Encinitas.
Imperial Irrigation District General Manager Henry Martinez issued the following statement in a press release on the draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) released today by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The draft SEIS evaluates potential modifications to the 2007 Interim Shortage Guidelines that govern operation of the Colorado River’s major dams and reservoirs.
Southern California and the state as a whole could see dramatic reductions in allocations of Colorado River water under proposals released Tuesday by the federal government aimed at protecting a system that provides water to 40 million people in multiple states along with critical agricultural irrigation.
The river also provides hydroelectric power to millions of customers, generated by dams at Lake Mead and Lake Powell.
In what is expected to be one of the biggest snowmelt events in its history, California could see some 277 billion gallons of water flowing from the Sierra during the month of May alone.
Experts said Tuesday that the state’s biggest snow year since 1950 could result in a dangerous spring, as warming temperatures push high volumes of snowmelt downstream.
The Interior Department on Tuesday shared its proposal for expected cuts to Colorado River water allocations but acknowledged that the most extreme options — including a plan that would slash water deliveries to Arizona and Nevada — are unlikely to be included in a final decision this summer.
Instead, agency officials presented their emergency plan — which includes contrasting proposals that would either force California to forfeit a significant portion of its flows or concentrate the pain of cuts on Arizona and Nevada — as a set of “bookends” to motivate state officials to collaborate.
“I would not think about either of these three alternatives as something we’re asking people to choose, but rather, they’re models and alternatives and ways of defining the problem,” said Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beaudreau, referring to an update of the 2007 Colorado River Interim Guidelines.
