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Fallbrook PUD Goes With The Maintenance Flow To Provide Reliable Service

/in , /by /Water News Network

Water pipeline blowouts like the one the day before Thanksgiving 2017 at the intersection of Stagecoach Road and Ranchwood Lane in Fallbrook provide periodic reminders about the realities of aging infrastructure. Preventing these type of emergencies is the driving force behind planned shutdowns at water agencies such as the Fallbrook Public Utility District; investments today will avoid similar emergencies and unplanned water outages in the years ahead. Many of FPUD’s pipes are more than 50 years old. A pipeline’s life can be 80 to 100 years, but many of the early lines that were installed were not put in at today’s standards and have shorter lives.

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Madaffer Says He’s The New Sheriff In The San Diego Water World

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Ry Rivard Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Jim Madaffer says he’s the new sheriff in town at the San Diego County Water Authority. For anyone who doesn’t follow the intricacies or intrigues of what seems like it should be an agency with a straightforward mission – providing water for San Diego – this may sound like a bit of pabulum. But Madaffer, the colorful former San Diego city councilman who has had numerous other roles on obscure but important agencies, is serious. His first task after he became chairman of the Water Authority board was to clean house.

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Public Meetings On Permitting For Long-Term Operations Of The California State Water Project Planned

/in , , /by /Sierra Sun Times (Mariposa, Calif.)

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has issued a notice that it will seek an updated environmental permit to operate the State Water Project through a state-based approach in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The department’s notice that it will prepare an Environmental Impact Report for long-term operation of the SWP is available here. “The State Water Project provides many benefits from flood protection to water supply and is operated to ensure the health of California’s ecosystem,” said Karla Nemeth, DWR Director.

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Federal Judge Dismisses Key Pieces Of Tribe’s Claim Against Local Water Districts

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Evan Wyloge

A federal judge has dismissed portions of a yearslong lawsuit brought by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians against the Coachella Valley’s local water districts, ruling against the tribe’s attempt to quantify its rights to groundwater. The judge ruled Friday that the tribe’s access to water has not been sufficiently harmed to adjudicate the matter.  The ruling strikes a blow to the tribe’s sweeping 2013 lawsuit aimed at asserting greater control of the groundwater beneath its land.

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Farm To Table Event Highlights San Diego County Products

/in , /by /The Water News Network

Many people don’t realize that a lot of the produce they buy at grocery stores or enjoy in local restaurants is grown right here in San Diego County. In fact, the county is home to more than 5,500 local farms and a $4.8 billion regional agriculture industry fueled by safe and reliable water supplies from the Water Authority and its 24 member agencies. Thursday’s event, called “Graze at the Fields,” is an opportunity for the community to connect with farmers. In addition to enjoying hand-crafted samples and beverages, guests will have a chance to talk with local growers and purveyors to learn about all that goes into producing the finest and freshest local farm products.

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Drought Will Become The Norm By Mid-Century As The Planet Warms

/in , , /by /Long Beach Postby Kelly Puente

In a sea of grassy lawns in Long Beach’s Rose Park neighborhood, Susan Moffett’s yard is a drought-tolerant retreat dotted with lavender, rosemary and pink-flowered abutilon plants. Originally from the Midwest, Moffett grew up with suburban green lawns, but as a landscape designer, she said drought tolerant plants are the necessity in Southern California. “A lot of people don’t realize the magnitude of our water shortage,” she said. “We all have a responsibility to conserve water.” One particularly perilous effect of climate change is the fact that Southern California is expected to become much hotter and drier in the coming decades.

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Colorado River Drought Plan Could Improve Local Drought Resilience

/in , , /by /Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo.)by Hannah Holm

Even as successive snowstorms obliterated drought conditions in the state of Colorado, the states that share the Colorado River put the final touches on a plan to use less water. On March 19, representatives from California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado asked Congress to approve their “Drought Contingency Plan.” Congressed obliged, and President Trump added his signature on April 16. The lightning speed with which the Drought Contingency Plan was approved in contentious Washington, D.C. reflects the plan’s importance. Over the past two decades, water use from the river has regularly exceed inputs from snow and rain, leading water levels in Lakes Mead and Powell to drop perilously low.

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Cal Am Desal Plant Project Goes To Monterey County Planning Commission

/in , /by /Monterey Heraldby Jim Johnson

Considered by many the key to long-running efforts to cut unauthorized pumping from the Carmel River, California American Water’s proposed desalination plant project is headed to the Monterey County Planning Commission next week. On Wednesday, the commission is set to conduct a public hearing on a combined development permit for the proposed 6.4-million-gallon-per-day desal plant on Charlie Benson Road off Del Monte Boulevard north of Marina. The commission is charged with considering a use permit and administrative permit and design approval, for the desal plant and related facilities based on consideration of a combined environmental impact report and environmental impact statement certified by the California Public Utilities Commission in September.

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Endangered Wetlands Offer Vital Wildlife Habitat And A Reason To Fight About Coastal Development

/in , /by /Daily Breeze (Torrance, Calif.)by Martin Wisckol

Between Southern California’s popular beaches and much-traversed mountain trails lies an unsung natural landscape, teeming with its own special wildlife. As you head outdoors to celebrate Earth Day weekend — or to simply connect with nature and leave behind the anxieties of urban life — one option is our area’s often overlooked coastal wetlands. In Orange and Los Angeles counties, more than 90 percent of the estuaries, lagoons and other coastal waters that existed in the 19th century have been lost to roads, buildings and other development. But what remains provides a crucial habitat for resident animals and migrating birds, including several endangered species.

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California And The West Prepare To Get By On Less Water From The Colorado River

/in , , /by /Berkeley Newsby John Hickey

A century of water management in the western United States is on the verge of being restructured and two UC Berkeley water experts approve. Under a plan recently passed by Congress, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior is charged with implementing an agreement among seven states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — in which each agrees to take less water from the Colorado River. The plan, more than two years in the making, now is headed to the desk of President Donald Trump for his signature.

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