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A Pandemic and Surging Summer Heat Leave Thousands Struggling to Pay Utility Bills

/in , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Maddie Kornfeld

When the coronavirus pandemic forced classrooms to close this spring, Leticia Garcia’s family in Fairfax County, Virginia, quickly ran short of money. Garcia cleans schools for a living and, with her hours sharply reduced, found herself at home with her two daughters.

She cut their cell phone service to keep the water, gas and electricity on. Now, only Garcia and her son, who helps pay the utility bills, have working phones.

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Opinion: State Water Board Trying to Drain Away Merced County’s Chief Supply

/in , /by /Merced Sun-Starby Daron McDaniel

Less than a week before Christmas in 2016, the State Water Resources Control Board held a single public hearing in our community. The topic? Draining our community’s water supply and sending it to the Bay Delta.

Not only was the hearing deliberately held when our community’s attention was focused on the holiday — it was the only local hearing the Water Board held in Merced before adopting its ill-conceived Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan SED.

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The Water is Contaminated. But California Bottled Water Program Isn’t Helping This Town

/in , /by /The Fresno Beeby Monica Vaughan

The cost of buying cases of bottled water for cooking and drinking is adding up for residents of Earlimart, where a contaminated well became the main source of tap water for more than 8,000 people there in late May.

The state Water Resources Control Board that is responsible for drinking water has a program to provide financial assistance for bottled water to help communities in crisis. It has not been available in Earlimart — and it is unclear why.

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To Dam or Not to Dam

/in , /by /Hakai Magazineby Larry Pynn

For the past two decades, dams have been falling across the United States in a bid to reverse a legacy of destruction of fish and their habitat. American Rivers, a nonprofit advocacy organization, estimates that 1,200 dams were dismantled nationwide from 1999 to 2019, including major dams on the Elwha and White Salmon Rivers in Washington State.

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Director Gastelum Censured by Otay Water District Over Racist Social Media Posts

/in , /by /The San Diego Union Tribuneby Gustavo Solis

Hector Gastelum has been censured by the Otay Water District Board of Directors for posting controversial comments on social media. Again.

In 2017, the water district censured Gastelum and removed him from all committees because of a tweet that described Muslim people as “subhuman scum.”

This time, Gastelum’s censure is the consequence of a racist post criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Money to Repair Central Valley Canal in House Bill. A Large Funding Gap Remains

/in , /by /The Fresno Beeby Danielle Bergstrom

South San Joaquin Valley farmers have a reason to celebrate this week: Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives appropriated $200 million to fix the Friant-Kern Canal. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Chairwoman of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, attributed the allocation to the advocacy of Rep. T.J. Cox.

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350 Facilities Skip Reporting Water Pollution Under Temporary EPA Rule

/in , /by /The Hillby Rachel Frazin

More than 350 facilities nationwide have taken advantage of a temporary Environmental Protection Agency rule that lets companies forgo monitoring their water pollution during the pandemic.

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Opinion: Affordability Must Be a Priority as California Charts a Course for Economic Recovery

/in , /by /CalMattersby Danielle Blacet-Hyden and Patrick Welch

There’s no doubt California has been hard hit by the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The state’s unemployment rate is north of 15% and millions of households are struggling to pay their bills, whether it be the monthly rent or mortgage, a car payment or their utility bills.

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San Diego County Water Authority Priced into a Market Eager for California Paper

/in , , /by /The Bond Buyerby Keeley Webster Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority’s decision to do a forward delivery on one of two series for a $400 million refunding paid off with the water wholesaler realizing $67.4 million in savings.

The Water Authority decided to explore what has become a more frequent option used by issuers since tax-exempt advance refundings were eliminated by the 2017 federal tax bill with the aim of realizing greater savings for ratepayers, said Lisa Marie Harris, the water authority’s finance director.

Co-lead managers B of A Securities and Loop Capital Markets priced Wednesday a $283.5 million series and $117.7 million series of water revenue refunding bonds. Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is bond counsel. Montague DeRose and Associates LLC and Acacia Financial Group are co-municipal advisors.

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Opinion: Imperial County, the COVID-19 Epicenter

/in , , /by /CalMatters by Dan Walters

Even as a boy, I knew there was something unusual, even other-worldly, about living in the Imperial Valley.

We seemed so isolated, more connected to Mexico than California. In fact the valley’s largest city was Mexicali, just across the border, and we’d often walk across for cheap restaurant food. It was an hours-long, 100-mile automobile drive through treeless, boulder-strewn mountains to San Diego, the nearest California city of any size.

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