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OPINION: SF, State Must Compromise On Water Restriction Plan

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco has maintained water rights to the Tuolumne River, a pristine source that originates high in the Sierra Nevada, since the early 1900s. Now, those rights are being threatened by a state proposal to rescue the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The state’s plan, which was first proposed in October 2016 and released as a final draft last month, would increase water flows to the Tuolumne and other rivers that support the delta.

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Why San Francisco Is Joining Valley Farmers In A Fight Over Precious California Water

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow

Originating in a glacier at the eastern edge of Yosemite, the Tuolumne River runs into a man-made roadblock in the towering granite cliffs of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. A massive concrete dam captures its icy water and ships much of it through pipes and tunnels to the residents of San Francisco. Farther downstream, the Tuolumne is halted again, this time by a dam in the oak-covered Sierra foothills. From there, a network of canals spreads the Tuolumne’s waters over mile after mile of rich San Joaquin Valley vineyards, orchards and dairy farms.

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California Water Wars: State Plans To Cut SF’s Sierra Supply To Save Delta

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

The cold, rushing water of the Tuolumne River, piped from the high peaks of Yosemite to the taps of Bay Area residents, is not only among the nation’s most pristine municipal water sources but extraordinarily plentiful. This point of pride for San Francisco, which has maintained rights to the cherished Sierra supply since the early 1900s, is being threatened, however. Under a far-reaching state plan to bump up flows in California’s rivers, the city would be forced to limit its draws from the Tuolumne for the first time in recent memory.

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OPINION: Stop The State From Wreaking Even More Havoc On Delta’s Economy

/in , /by /Manteca / Ripon Bulletin

Over the past decade, San Joaquin County and Delta stakeholders have spent thousands of hours fighting the Governor’s Twin Tunnels project, officially called WaterFix.  This water transfer plan would have a disastrous effect on the agricultural industry in the region, and estimated costs have ballooned to $20+ billion. Unfortunately, the State is now pursuing yet another devastating water grab that is quietly making its way through the regulatory process. The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) will soon consider Phase 1 of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Plan update (Revised Plan).

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Stanislaus, Merced County Opponents Gear For Water Rally At Capitol On Monday

/in , /by /The Modesto Beeby Ken Carlson

Opponents of a state “water grab” are taking their political battle to the steps of the state Capitol building in Sacramento on Monday. From 500 to 1,000 people are expected at a rally to protest a state water board plan to double the amount of water taken from the Tuolumne River to improve water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta and restore fish populations. The plan, also to take additional water from the Stanislaus and Merced rivers, is opposed by irrigation districts and cities that predict devastating effects on agriculture and the economy in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

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OPINION: The Twin Tunnels Are Best Water Fix For California

/in , /by /Pasadena Star-Newsby Charles Wilson, Tracy Hernandez, and John Hakel

Let’s start with this: California WaterFix, Gov. Brown’s $17 billion twin-tunnels project, is the best and most affordable long-term solution to our great state’s water woes. If we’re going to call it a time machine, we should acknowledge it will transport us to a brighter future, where there’s clean, reliable water for generations to come. The boondoggle rhetoric that has recently appeared in these pages is classic political redirection. Opponents have been serving up nonsense for more than a decade in hopes of derailing California WaterFix.

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OPINION: Sacramento’s New Way To Tax The Water You Drink

/in , /by /Inland Valley Daily Bulletinby Susan Shelly

Another new tax is headed for your water bill, as if it wasn’t high enough already. Gov. Jerry Brown has been trying to push through a statewide tax on drinking water, the first ever in California history, and as you might imagine, it has been a challenge for him. People are fed up with new taxes. That was demonstrated very convincingly in the June recall of state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton.

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Tax On California Water Revived To Clean Up Drinking Water – But It’s Voluntary

/in , /by /Sacramento Beeby Taryn Luna

Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers are rebooting an effort to pass a new tax to attack unsafe drinking water in California.

But there’s a twist: The proposed tax on water bills would be voluntary, increasing its chances of success among skittish lawmakers in an election year.

After calling off a plan in June to apply a mandatory tax on water bills, the governor is backing a new pair of bills that would apply a voluntary levy on ratepayers to fund safe drinking water projects. Senate Bill 844 and 845, introduced by Sen. Bill Monning, would also raise taxes on dairies and fertilizer manufacturers.

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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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