The Carlsbad City Council approved a plan last week to increase water, sewer, and recycled water rates by 49% during the next three years following recent cost-of-service studies. The council voted 4-1 to implement the new rate structure starting on July 1 with a 20% increase. Council member Melanie Burkholder cast the sole vote against the proposal.
Southern California cities can expect to receive 50% of their full water allotments this year from the aqueducts of the State Water Project, up from 40% last month, as runoff from this year’s ample snowpack continues to fill reservoirs in Northern California. “Our full reservoirs will allow us to help meet the needs of the State Water Project contractors and their customers this year as well as provide some water supply next year in the event that dry conditions return,” Karla Nemeth, director of the state Department of Water Resources, said in a statement Tuesday.
Florida is poised to become the second state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, over the concerns of dentists and public health advocates who say the mineral is a safe, effective way to protect people of all ages from developing cavities. Florida lawmakers gave final approval to the bill Tuesday after Utah became the first state to pass a ban last month. The Republican-led states are following a push led by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is setting the gears of government in motion to stop fluoridating water.
In pain so bad he couldn’t stand, Chris Meek was rushed to the hospital with a life-threatening ruptured gallbladder. When he emerged from surgery, he learned he had kidney cancer that thankfully hadn’t yet spread.
Meek, a social studies teacher in Wilmington, North Carolina, was 47 at the time. But he remained confused for years about why, as someone seemingly not at risk, he had gotten cancer until Emily Donovan, a parent of students at his school, gave a guest talk about high levels of harmful forever chemicals known as PFAS in North Carolina’s environment. When Donovan mentioned kidney cancer, the possible cause of Meek’s diagnosis finally clicked.
Mexico and the United States said Monday they had reached an agreement that involves Mexico immediately sending more water from their shared Rio Grande basin to Texas farmers after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs and sanctions earlier this month.
Over the past few years, Lake Oroville’s water levels have significantly recovered following years of drought that depleted the state’s reservoirs to concerningly low levels. Above-average snowfall in the winter of 2023 and 2024 helped the reservoir recover. Although less snow fell this year, the lake is expected to reach its capacity this spring as snow melts, signaling positive news for California.
As former San Diego County Water Authority Board Chairs, we heard and responded to demands from the region’s working families, civic and business leaders in the 1990s when our only major water source dried up.
Collectively, with our member agencies, we then spent three decades relentlessly securing new water supplies and investing in multi-billion-dollar upgrades that will last for generations. We remained steadfast in making the necessary and difficult decisions to support the entire San Diego region.
Carlsbad’s residential water and sewer rates will increase 20% on July 1 and a total of 49% over the next three years under a plan approved Tuesday by the City Council. Several residents opposed the rate hikes, but city staffers said they are needed to pass along a 14% increase in the price of water purchased from the San Diego County Water Authority and to cover inflation and the rising costs of maintenance and capital improvements.
The story: For more than 80 years, the San Diego County Water Authority and its 22 member agencies have worked together to deliver safe and reliable water to more than 3.3 million people. Despite climate challenges and a limited local water supply, strategic investments ensure that water continues flowing to support homes, businesses and the economy — all day, every day.
Thousands of feet below the snowy summit of Mt. San Jacinto, a formidable feat of engineering and grit makes life as we know it in Southern California possible. The 13-mile-long San Jacinto Tunnel was bored through the mountain in the 1930s by a crew of about 1,200 men who worked day and night for six years, blasting rock and digging with machinery.
