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Water Authority Attorney Helping Protect Ratepayers

/in , /by /The Daily Transcriptby Mark Armao

The San Diego County Water Authority annually delivers about 130 billion gallons of water to its member agencies, which in turn pump the water to ratepayers throughout the region. The movement of that much water  and the millions of dollars that propel it  brings with it certain legal implications. To handle its sometimes slippery legal matters, the independent agency calls on Mark J. Hattam, an attorney whose career started on a different track.

 

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Inside California’s Fight Against Pollution

/in , /by /The Hill (Washington, D.C.)by Miranda Green

Mary Nichols, the woman who for more than 15 years has led the fight to improve California’s poor air quality, says she’s not a fan of a nickname she’s acquired: Queen of Green. “I actually hate the title,” Nichols told The Hill during a recent phone interview. “We live in what is intended to be a representative democracy, so queens are not our thing.” But Nichols, who has twice headed the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and more recently has led the state in its battle against the Trump administration’s rollback of key car emissions regulations, has nevertheless become a reigning environmental figure.

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Salton Sea Wetland Projects Access Agreement Afoot

/in , , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson

With the clock ticking, a major hurdle to restoring the southern edge of the fast-drying Salton Sea may finally be overcome. Imperial Irrigation District general manager Henry Martinez told the Desert Sun that he and California Natural Resources Secretary Wade  Crowfoot have reached an agreement in principle that the state — not the water district — will be responsible for construction and maintenance of more than 3,700 acres of wetlands aimed at controlling toxic dust and restoring wildlife habitat. In exchange, the water district will sign easements for access onto lands it owns that border California’s largest lake. The agreement could break a years-long impasse and find ways to get restoration projects moving.

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Study Estimates 15,000 Cancer Cases Could Stem From Chemicals In California Tap Water

/in , /by /CNNby Nadia Kounang

A new study finds that drinking tap water in California over the course of a lifetime could increase the risk of cancer. Researchers from the environmental advocacy group Environmental Working Group estimated that the contaminants found in public water systems in California could contribute to about 15,500 cancer cases there over the course of a lifetime. These contaminants include chemicals such as arsenic, hexavalent chromium and radioactive elements such as uranium and radium. The study was published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Health.

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Yuba Water Agency, DWR Launch Research To Enhance Reservoir Operations

/in , , /by /YubaNet (Nevada City, Calif.)

Yuba Water Agency launched an initiative with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography to improve storm and runoff forecasting, and significantly reduce flood risk though enhanced operations of New Bullards Bar and Oroville dams. This research will supply information needed for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to update the 1970’s-era water control manuals, which dictate the storm-season operations of both reservoirs. Yuba Water’s goal is to have a new water control manual approved about the same time the agency completes construction of a new, planned secondary spillway at its New Bullards Bar Dam, estimated for completion in 2024.

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Few Details In Newsom’s Water Policy Directive

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered key state agencies to develop a blueprint for meeting California’s 21st-century water needs in the face of climate change. The executive order includes few details and doesn’t appear to set a dramatic new water course for the state. Rather, it reaffirms Newsom’s intentions to downsize the controversial twin tunnels project in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, use voluntary agreements to meet new river flow requirements and provide clean drinking water to impoverished communities.

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Gov. Newsom Issues Executive Order Demanding Drought-Climate Plan

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Like many governors before him, Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking to get his arms around California’s myriad water problems, issuing an executive order Monday that calls for his administration to do nothing less than ensure safe and sufficient water for the next century. The order directs state agencies to review and come up with plans to improve policies addressing such issues as California’s chronic water shortages, contaminated drinking water, unaffordable water rates, and the declining health of rivers and lakes.

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Study: Up To 15,000 Cancer Cases Could Stem From Chemicals In California Tap Water

/in , /by /Fox 5 San Diego

A new study finds that drinking tap water in California over the course of a lifetime could increase the risk of cancer. Researchers from the environmental advocacy group Environmental Working Group estimated that the contaminants found in public water systems in California could contribute to about 15,500 cancer cases there over the course of a lifetime. These contaminants include chemicals such as arsenic, hexavalent chromium and radioactive elements such as uranium and radium. The study was published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Health.

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Five Years Later, Effects Of Colorado River Pulse Flow Still Linger

/in , , /by /KRCC (Colorado Springs)by Luke Runyon

From inside a small airplane, tracing the Colorado River along the Arizona-California border, it’s easy to see how it happened. As the river bends and weaves through the American Southwest, its contents are slowly drained. Concrete canals send water to millions of people in Phoenix and Tucson, Los Angeles and San Diego. Farms, ribbons of green contrasted against the desert’s shades of brown, line the waterway.

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Cal Am Withdraws Appeal Of Desal Permit Denial

/in , , /by /Monterey Heraldby Jim Johnson

Monday evening California American Water announced it had decided to withdraw its appeal of the Marina city Planning Commission’s denial of a coastal development permit for the company’s proposed desalination project, specifically the intake slant wells and other related infrastructure. Cal Am announced it had been told by city officials its request for the mayor and two council members to recuse themselves due to alleged bias against the desal project would not be honored. The company will now appeal the commission’s denial directly to the Coastal Commission.

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