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West Basin Water District Releases Final EIR For El Segundo Desalination Plant

/in , , , /by /The Beach Reporter (Hermosa Beach, Calif.)by David Rosenfeld

West Basin Municipal Water District released on Wednesday, Oct. 23, the final environmental impact report for an El Segundo desalination plant that would convert 20 million gallons per day of seawater into fresh drinking water.

The plant would sit on up to 13 acres next to the El Segundo Generating Station, at 301 Vista del Mar.

The final environmental report includes responses to more than 200 questions submitted during a 91-day public review period that ended June 25, 2018. The district board will consider certifying the report at a special board meeting at 3 p.m. Nov. 18 at Carson Event Center.

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‘Big Ideas’ Diversify San Diego Region’s Reliable Water Supply

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Ensuring water for future generations requires investing and investigating big ideas, according to Sandy Kerl. Kerl, acting general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, shared some of those ideas today in San Diego, as she delivered the opening remarks at the California-Nevada Section of the American Water Works Association annual fall conference, which runs through Thursday at the Town and Country Hotel Convention Center.

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Federal Officials Rejigger Rules on Water Deliveries-Some Say at Expense of Fish

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Peter Fimrite

The ongoing fight between environmentalists and agriculture over California’s scarce water supplies was renewed Tuesday after the federal government issued a comprehensive plan to boost water “flexibility” that opponents claim is a giveaway to farmers tantamount to killing off imperiled fish. The proposal, contained in a review, or biological opinion, of the state and federal water distribution systems, loosens restrictions on water deliveries proposed in July by the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect chinook salmon, steelhead trout and delta smelt.

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Lower Santa Margarita River Recycled Water Pilot Project Among CWA’s IRWM Grant Applications

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

The San Diego County Water Authority has an Integrated Regional Water Management plan and the state’s Department of Water Resources has a grant program for IRWM projects. The latest SDCWA grant applications include one for the Fallbrook Public Utility District’s pilot program which would recharge recycled water in the Santa Margarita River basin. A unanimous Sept. 26 CWA board vote approved grant applications totaling $14,416,156 including $687,500 for the FPUD indirect potable reuse pilot project.

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Bipartisan San Diego Water Bill Introduced By Representatives Hunter, Davis, and Peters

/in , , /by /East County Magazine (San Diego, Calif.)

San Diego Congressional members Scott Peters, Duncan Hunter and Susan Davis have introduced bipartisan federal legislation to simplify permit requirements to operate the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plan, with a goal of providing purified, recycled drinking water for the San Diego region and reducing ocean pollution.

The bill, H.R. 4611, the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act II, was introduced in the House on October 4, 2019.

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Imperial County Declares Salton Sea Emergency, Demands California Take Action

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Janet Wilson

Imperial County has had enough. That was the message from the county board of supervisors on Tuesday as they voted unanimously to declare a local state of emergency at the Salton Sea.

And that may not be all: In addition to the action on the state’s largest lake, supervisors said they will seek another emergency declaration on the badly polluted New River — which flows into the Salton Sea — in two weeks.

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Federal Agencies Focused On Improving Water Prediction For Western U.S. With Action Plan

/in , , /by /California Water News Daily

The Western United States has increasing been subject to the whims of Mother Nature regarding the availability of water supplies. Managing in an era of multi-year droughts, deluges and floods, and the need to protect and replenish dwindling groundwater basins is a challenge for any water manager.

Last year President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum on Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water in the West to aid water manager in knowing where, when, and how much precipitation will occur in a certain area. The memo directed the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to develop an action plan, in coordination with water experts and resource managers, to improve forecasts of water availability. The Federal Action Plan for Improving Forecasts of Water Availability (Action Plan) has now been released.

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Trump Team Weakens Endangered Species Protections For California Salmon And Delta Smelt

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Bettina Boxall

In a move that would boost water deliveries to San Joaquin Valley agriculture and Southern California cities, federal fishery agencies are weakening decade-old endangered species protections for some of the state’s most imperiled native fish populations.

The rollback — coming a year after President Trump targeted the regulations in a memo — rewards Central Valley agribusiness interests that are some of the president’s strongest California supporters. To critics, it highlights the extent to which the Trump administration has injected politics into federal oversight of the nation’s leading environmental laws.

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Blog: ‘Big Ideas’ Diversify San Diego Region’s Reliable Water Supply

/in , , /by /Water Education Foundation

Ensuring water for future generations requires investing and investigating big ideas, according to Sandy Kerl.

Kerl, acting general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, shared some of those ideas today in San Diego, as she delivered the opening remarks at the California-Nevada Section of the American Water Works Association annual fall conference, which runs through Thursday at the Town and Country Hotel Convention Center.

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Feds To Make A Big Water Proposal, While Imperial County Seeks Newsom’s Help With Salton Sea

/in , , /by /Cal Mattersby Dan Morain

The U.S. government today is announcing plans to alter operations of California’s water system, potentially resulting in less water flowing through the Delta into San Francisco Bay and more to cities and San Joaquin Valley farms.

The plan, part of which was announced via a commentary in CalMatters, includes changes that the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say will improve habitat for Chinook salmon and Delta smelt, a tiny fish that is teetering on the verge of extinction in the wild.

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