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Poway Might Reimburse Residents, Businesses for Week of Water Restrictions

/in , , /by /KPBSby Matt Hoffman

The Poway City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to issue rebates on water bills to compensate residents and business for losses stemming from the contamination crisis late last year.

In late November, stormwater contaminated the city’s water supply and people were told not to drink water for nearly a week. Now the city is looking to reimburse residents and businesses for the interruption.

The city council will consider giving customers a one time credit that on average would be $28, depending on water usage.

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Maybe the old Lake Wohlford Dam Isn’t so bad, After All?

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune by J. Harry Jones

Plans to replace the Lake Wohlford dam are now on hold as Escondido investigates other, less expensive options because the projected cost of the project has escalated to more than $50 million.

It was nearly 13 years ago when state inspectors determined that the top quarter of the dam might liquefy in the event of a major earthquake and potentially flood eastern Escondido.

Right away, Escondido utility workers lowered the water level of the lake so that only the bottom three-quarters of the dam would be needed to hold back water. The amount of water stored in the lake was reduced by about half.

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Imperial Valley Conservation Efforts Benefit San Diego, Southwest

/in , , /by /WaterNewsNetwork Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors visited the Imperial Valley January 30 for a day-long tour that highlighted areas critical to the agency’s Regional Conveyance System Study. Board members approved a study in July 2019, to evaluate a new regional water conveyance system that would deliver water from the Colorado River to San Diego County and provide multiple benefits across the Southwest. The Board will hear results from the first phase of the study this spring before deciding whether to move ahead with Phase B. The tour started in southwestern Imperial County, where the All-American Canal meets the Westside Main Canal, an historic location where, starting in 1919, water from a canal system in Mexico first flowed into the western half of the Imperial Valley. 

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San Diego Leaders Say $300M in New Federal Cash Will Help Build U.S. Facility to Capture TJ River Pollution

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

The San Diego region has secured $300 million in federal funding for a new U.S. facility to capture Tijuana sewage spills before they foul South Bay shorelines, elected leaders said Friday. “This has been an issue in our region for decades, and concrete federal action to address cross-border pollution has been long overdue,” said Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, at a news conference in Chula Vista. Congressional leaders announced the funding in December, but it wasn’t clear whether that money would be doled out across the entire southwest border or dedicated specifically to address pollution in the Tijuana River Valley.

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City of San Diego’s Hodges Reservoir Reopens Feb. 5 for Recreation

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Debbie L. Sklar

The city of San Diego’s Hodges Reservoir will officially reopen to the public three days a week beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 5, allowing access for a variety of activities, including boating, fishing, hiking and picnicking. Hodges is normally closed November through January.

Hodges will be open Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from sunrise to sunset. It will also be open on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day holidays.

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Opinion: 4 Things Arizona Should Learn From California’s Groundwater Regulation Fight

/in , , /by /azcentral.by Joanna Allhands

Arizona is debating the next steps it should take to protect limited groundwater, 40 years after the state’s landmark Groundwater Management Act became law. As the arguments take shape, it’s instructive to look west to California, which did not have groundwater legislation in place until 2014. The first round of management plans – which cover the basins with the most critical groundwater issues, mostly in the agriculture-heavy Central Valley – were due Jan. 31. The process has been laden with drama. And it’s anyone’s guess, after years of debate, whether California regulators will sign off on some basins’ plans.

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Supervisors Add 39 Acres to San Luis Rey River Park

/in , , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Two separate San Diego County Board of Supervisors actions, Jan. 15, added approximately 39 acres to the future San Luis Rey River Park. One 5-0 vote approved the purchase of approximately 37 acres from North American Resort Properties Inc., for the appraised value of $1,673,000. The other 5-0 vote approved an exchange of land in which 2.11 county-owned acres not contiguous to the planned active recreation area will be transferred to the San Diego County Water Authority and 2.11 acres of California Department of Transportation land contiguous to the active recreation property will be transferred to the county.

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Bill Would Block Transfers of Colorado River Water From Rural Areas to Growing Cities

/in , , /by /Arizona Republicby Ian James

A company’s proposal to take water from farmland along the Colorado River and sell it to a growing Phoenix suburb has provoked a heated debate, and some Arizona legislators are trying to block the deal with a bill that would prohibit the transfer.

The legislation introduced by Rep. Regina Cobb would bar landowners who hold “fourth-priority” water entitlements from transferring Colorado River water away from communities near the river.

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FDA Expands Efforts to Detect PFAS in Food

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Environmentby Pat Rizzuto

The Food and Drug Administration is expanding its own capacity to test foods for certain “forever chemicals,” a senior agency official said Monday.

Expanded federal laboratory capability should help as the Department of Defense, states, and scientific researchers increase their testing of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) near military, industrial, and other sites with a history of having used the man-made chemicals.

The additional federal resources should also help state agencies dealing with suspected PFAS contamination in food.

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State Increases Water Allocations for Year

/in , , /by /Appeal Democrat

The Department of Water Resources announced it would be increasing its allocations to 15 percent for State Water Project participants this year, which reflects a 5 percent increase to the state’s initial estimation in December. 

Yuba City is one of 29 agencies that are part of the State Water Project. The project’s largest reservoir in Lake Oroville.

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