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California Senate Leaders Propose Economic Recovery Plan

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby Ed Joyce Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego County Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer today praised planning efforts by state Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins of San Diego and other state Senate leaders to help guide California’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The senate plans include funding to create jobs, boost infrastructure investments and to protect renters and landlords.

“We are very appreciative of President pro Tem Toni Atkins’ efforts to advance immediate action on economic recovery and creative solutions to jump-start California’s economy without exacerbating the already-challenging fiscal conditions being experienced at the state and local government levels,” Madaffer said. “We look forward to engaging on the details and partnering with the state to move forward on shovel-ready water and energy infrastructure projects that can help the state’s economic recovery gain traction.”

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Coalition Asks Congress To Fund State Drinking, Wastewater Districts Amid Pandemic

/in , , /by /SF Gateby Kiley Russell

A large coalition of government and advocacy groups Tuesday asked for congressional help to ensure that California can continue to deliver safe drinking water during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Rethinking (Waste)water and Conservation

/in , , /by /Phys Orgby Tess Eyrich

When it comes to water conservation in cities that depend on wastewater reuse, even the best intentions can have unintended consequences. That’s the main message to be gleaned from new findings from a team of water economists and engineers led by Kurt Schwabe, a professor of environmental economics and policy and the associate dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside.

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Opinion: Forests Can Help Boost California’s Economic Recovery

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Laurie Wayburn

As California begins its recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, the Legislature has a short window to simultaneously address both our current economic losses and ongoing climate challenges. Although these remain unprecedented times, it is also an opportunity to envision a better future and a different way of doing things, particularly regarding fire, drought, water reliability, forest health and how these are entwined with our economic recovery.

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Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump’s California Water Plan

/in , , /by /AP News

A federal court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to pump more water to the agricultural Central Valley, which critics said would threaten endangered species and salmon runs.

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Opinion: Here’s How Less than 10% of Farmland Could Solve the Colorado River’s Water Deficit

/in , , /by /Arizona Centralby Bruce Babbitt

It is no exaggeration to say that a mega-drought not seen in 500 years has descended on the seven Colorado River Basin states: Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and California. That’s what the science shows, and that’s what the region faces.

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New Federal Clean Water Rule Puts Expensive Onus on Colorado

/in , , /by /The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)by Jerd Smith

Colorado and other Western states will be hard-pressed to shield their rivers and streams under a new federal Clean Water Act rule finalized last month, largely because hundreds of shallow Western rivers are no longer protected, and writing new state laws and finding the cash to fill the regulatory gap will likely take years, officials said.

Though many agricultural interests and water utilities support the new Waters of the U.S. rule, as it is known, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Patrick Pfaltzgraff, director of the state’s Water Quality Control Division, said they will take legal action to protect streams that are no longer subject to federal oversight.

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Farmers, Ranchers Dispute Legal Limits of Revamped Water Rule

/in , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Amena H. Saiyid

Cattlemen in the West are gearing up for a legal battle over the Trump administration’s revamped water jurisdiction rule, even as a national trade association of farmers that touts itself as the “unified voice of agriculture” supports the change.

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EPA’s Independent Science Board, Critics Push for Stronger Lead Rule

/in , /by /The Hillby Rebecca Beitsch

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to address lead in water isn’t as aggressive as it could be, the agency’s independent science advisers, as well as outside groups, said Monday.

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Opinion: Southern California Doesn’t Have Decades to Figure Out Water Recycling. We Need it Now

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times

The great achievement of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is that few people ever give it much thought. You turn on the faucet and the water comes out. The stuff is reliably clean and safe, and always available.

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