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Desalination Plant in Santa Barbara Now Supplying 30% of City’s Needs; Hosting Public Tours

/in , /by /KCLU Santa Barbaraby Lance Orozco

Some ocean water on Santa Barbara County’s coastline is soon going to undergo a transformation. Roughly three million gallons of salt water is turned into drinking water a day at the City of Santa Barbara’s Charles E. Meyer Desalination plant.

The plant, which is just a few blocks from the ocean between West Beach and Highway 101, has been up and running for more than a year. Now for the first time, the media has been invited to tour the facility, and this weekend the public can see it.

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Delta Tunnels Cost Soars to Nearly $20 Billion When Accounting For Inflation

/in , /by /Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

The estimated cost of the Delta tunnels project, Gov. Jerry Brown’s controversial plan to re-engineer the troubled hub of California’s water network, has jumped to nearly $20 billion when accounting for inflation.

Tunnels backers say the higher cost reflects the impact from inflation over 16 years, not cost over-runs or design changes, and isn’t expected to hurt the project’s ability to move ahead.

The latest $19.9 billion price tag represents a 22 percent increase from the estimate of $16.3 billion, released by state officials last year. That $16.3 billion figure was provided in 2017 dollars.

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Federal Officials Predict Shortage For Lake Mead in 2020, Adding More Pressure On States For Drought Plan

/in , /by /The Nevada Independentby Daniel Rothberg

Thirty miles outside of Las Vegas, Lake Mead holds back Colorado River water for tribes, farms and growing cities across the Southwest. The reservoir, impounded by the Hoover Dam, is one of the most visible symbols of drought in the West. In nearly two decades of drought, the storage bank for the regional economy — and Las Vegas’ primary water supply — has dropped so many feet that there is a white chalky “bathtub ring,” a stark imprint of where the water line used to be.

Now the reservoir is teetering at the edge of shortage.

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Vital US Reservoir OK For Now, But Shortages Are Looming

/in , /by /PHYS.org (Los Angeles)by Dan Elliott

A vital reservoir on the Colorado River will be able to meet the demands of Mexico and the U.S. Southwest for the next 13 months, but a looming shortage could trigger cutbacks as soon as the end of 2019, officials said Wednesday. A forecast from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation echoes previous warnings that a nearly 20-year trend toward a drier regional climate coupled with rising demand could drain so much water from the Lake Mead reservoir that cutbacks would be mandatory.

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California WaterFix Start Dates Raise Red Flags

/in , /by /The Press (Brentwood) by Tony Kukulich

An application submitted by the Delta Conveyance Finance Authority (DCFA) seeking $1.6 billion in federal funding to support the California WaterFix project has raised some eyebrows.

The application indicates dates for the issuance of construction permits and the start of tunnel construction.

“They emphatically state that they’re going to have the permit in their hand on Dec. 14 and construction begins Dec. 15,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta. “So either the permit in front of the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is a fait accompli or these guys are just straight out lying to the federal government and marching in with a lot of hubris.”

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Arizona May Have To Cut Back On Water Use in 2020, Outlook Says

/in , /by /Arizona Republicby Joshua Bowling

Arizona will avoid a water shortage next year, but water users may be forced to cut back in 2020, according to a new federal report released Wednesday.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s outlook comes as Arizona managers and stakeholders work to finalize a drought-contingency plan in time for the next legislative session. Overallocation, climate change and long-term drought have contributed to Lake Mead’s decline, where water levels hover just a few feet above shortage triggers.

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State Water Board Won’t Vote Until Next Week on Controversial River Flow Plan

/in , /by /Modesto Beeby Ken Carlson

The State Water Board is making it clear that it won’t vote next week on a much-disputed proposal to require higher river flows for improving water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta.

Felicia Marcus, who chairs the water board, said in a letter Wednesday to the California Natural Resources Agency that final action will be taken at a board meeting later.

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OPINION: Unfinished Business On Water

/in , /by /Davis Enterpriseby Wade Crowfoot

In the latest Public Policy Institute of California poll, voters said drought, water supply, and water pollution are the state’s most pressing environmental challenge.

Californians recognize that water fuels our economy, grows our food, and sustains our natural places.

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OPINION: If We’re Smart, We Can Find Enough Water For All Of Us

/in , /by /Modesto Beeby Patrick Koepele

The Modesto Bee has expressed a strong negative opinion of the State Water Resources Control Board’s proposal to require additional water to be left in the Tuolumne River and other San Joaquin tributaries to improve water quality and the environment.

Regrettably, what has received little attention in this debate are the opportunities for improving water management to meet the agricultural and environmental demands placed on these rivers.

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California Public Utilities Commission’s Proposed Decision Backs Cal Am Desalination Project

/in , /by /Monterey Heraldby Jim Johnson

In a major development for California American Water’s long-sought desalination project, the California Public Utilities Commission has issued a proposed decision recommending approval of the proposal known as the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project.

In a 223-page filing, a three-judge panel found that Cal Am’s desal project is the best option available to provide the Monterey Peninsula with a timely replacement water supply to offset the state water board’s Carmel River pumping cutback order and the need to reduce pumping from the adjudicated Seaside basin. Judges Gary Weatherford, Robert Haga and Darcie Houck also recommended certifying the project’s combined environmental review document, arguing that project impacts could either be mitigated or would be outweighed by the project’s benefits.

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