It’s the most frustrating part of conservation. To save water, you rip out your lawn, shorten your shower time, collect rainwater for the flowers and stop washing the car. Your water use plummets.
And for all that trouble, your water supplier raises your rates. Why? Because everyone is using so much less that the agency is losing money.
State water management officials must work more closely with local agencies to properly prepare California for the effects of climate change, water scientists say.
A couple of weeks ago, the California Water Resources Control Board put five agricultural water agencies in Kings County on probation for failing to adequately manage underground water supplies in the Tulare Lake Basin that have been seriously depleted due to overpumping.
County water officials say the amount they charge local agencies for wholesale water must increase 39 percent over the next three years, including a hike between 16 percent and 22 percent during 2025.
Robert Zavala was fresh out of the Marines and looking to escape dead-end work at a poultry plant in the early 1990s when his old baseball coach — now the head of a local water district — swooped to the rescue with a job offer.
We’re all in hot water.
Sometimes there’s not enough water, sometimes too much. Either way, water costs for San Diegans will increase to sticker-shock level and maybe beyond, if that’s possible. And using less won’t help much.
Residents in Cardiff will see their sewer fees increase by 15 percent for each of the next four years, while central Encinitas sewer customers will see their rates go up by 19 percent for each of the next five.
The Encinitas City Council gave its initial approval to both sets of substantial price increases Wednesday, but said the increases will be revisited on an annual basis to determine if they are still warranted.
The San Diego County Water Authority is set to increase the amount it charges local agencies for wholesale water.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta faces significant challenges affecting the health of its waterways and ecosystem, and stewards say state agencies must accelerate efforts to prepare for the impacts of climate change and a growing urban landscape.
Two massive local water purification projects set to begin construction within the next 18 months have received up to $182 million from water wholesaler Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
