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Improvements Could Bring More Activities To Diamond Valley Lake Near Hemet

/in , /by /The Press-Enterprise (Riverside)by Craig Shultz

Road improvements and other efforts could lead to longer hours at Diamond Valley Lake near Hemet. “We’re making steps forward all the time. It’s another step,” said Linda Krupa, a Hemet City Councilwoman and chair of a committee looking to increase recreational activities around the drinking-water reservoir. Upgrades have been made to the main access road to protect local wildlife — which is more active at night. Metropolitan Water District, which operates the lake, installed 10 steel plates over concrete culverts on either side of the road to ensure animals can safely cross. It also added rumble strips and signs to slow traffic.

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House Of Representatives Passes Bill That Could Rescue California Desert Hydropower Project

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Sammy Roth

The companies trying to build a massive hydroelectric power plant on the doorstep of Joshua Tree National Park got one step closer to their objective last week. The House of Representatives unanimously approved America’s Water Infrastructure Act, a sprawling bill that would authorize and fund projects across the country, from bridge repairs to school drinking fountain replacements. The bill includes a provision that would allow federal regulators to throw a lifeline to the Eagle Mountain hydropower plant, which would be built in the open desert near Interstate 10, about an hour east of Palm Springs, on a property as close as 1.5 miles to Joshua Tree National Park.

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OPINION: Prop. 3 Is Pay-To-Play Water Bond For Billionaires

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Eric Parfrey

Proposition 3 is an irresponsible approach to California’s water problems. The nearly $8.9 billion bond was crafted behind-the-scenes, contains critical elements that could directly harm the environment and turns important water policies on their head. The bond substantially benefits billionaire stakeholders and is a bad water deal for Californians. Bond proposals are best created through a legislative process that is transparent and open to the public. Instead, the Proposition 3 authors have taken a clandestine approach from the start.

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Farmers Thought They Had 20 Years To Use Groundwater As They Wished. Maybe Not Anymore

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

California farmers are laboring under a daunting edict: They must stop over-pumping groundwater from beneath their ranches. The saving grace is that state law gives them more than 20 years to do it. Now, however, a landmark court ruling could force many farmers to curb their groundwater consumption much sooner than that, landing like a bombshell in the contentious world of California water. For the first time, a California court has said state and county governments have a duty to regulate groundwater usage when it’s clear that the pumping drains water from adjacent rivers.

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OPINION: PRO/CON: Is Prop. 3 A Water Fix Or Billionaires’ Windfall?

/in , /by /The Mercury News (San Jose)

Proposition 3 would issue $8.9 billion in general obligation bonds for a range of water infrastructure projects. The funding breakdown includes $2.4 billion to restore and protect watersheds and another $4.1 billion for disadvantaged communities seeking to improve their water infrastructure. Prop. 3 would also allocate $640 million for groundwater improvements and $500 million for safe, affordable drinking water. Yes: Initiative’s main backer says Prop. 3 will meet state needs as population grows and climate changes. No: Sierra Club leader says Prop. 3 benefits billionaire stakeholders and could harm the environment.

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California Had Its Own Climate Summit. Now What?

/in , /by /The New York Timesby Brad Plumer

For years, presidents and prime ministers have been the public face of the fight against climate change, gathering at United Nations summit meetings and pressuring each other to reduce emissions. The results have often been lackluster. A climate conference in California this week tried something different. The meeting, organized by the state’s governor, Jerry Brown, had far fewer national leaders present. Instead, an array of governors, mayors and business executives from around the globe met to promote their successes in cutting greenhouse gas emissions locally and to encourage one another to do more.

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OPINION: California’s Boondoggles Threaten Property Owners And Taxpayers

/in , /by /The Orange County Registerby Jon Coupal

One would hope that with the profound foolishness associated with California’s infamous High Speed Rail (HSR) project that our elected leadership would have learned a thing or two. But this is California. Because we do things bigger and better than anyone else, it’s apparent that one massive boondoggle isn’t enough — we need two. Let’s recap what we’ll call Boondoggle, Senior. The complete dysfunction of HSR is no longer in dispute. Missed deadlines for the business plans, lack of transparency, massive cost overruns, engineering hurdles that make the project virtually impossible to complete and a lack of funding are tops on the list.

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Can We Operate the Colorado River Differently Amid Climate Change?

/in , /by /Water Deeplyby Matt Weiser

The Colorado River watershed faces increasing challenges from chronic water shortage. And it appears increasingly likely this is a new permanent condition, not an episodic drought.

As a result, the many reservoirs built in the watershed – large and small – may have to be operated differently to optimize new precipitation patterns and snowmelt routines. That is a complicated problem, because they are all operated by different entities, with different water demands and unique environmental and flood-control concerns.

But if the 10 million people who depend on the Colorado River are to continue thriving, something’s got to be done.

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More critical water storage is finally coming to California. It took nearly 40 years.

/in , /by /The News Tribune (Tacoma)by Kate Irby

California officials have been pushing for more natural water storage since the last large-scale facility was built in 1979. Now they’re finally going to get it, thanks to political pressure, President Donald Trump and some congressional creativity.

The House approved several provisions Thursday that help fund water storage projects. The Senate is expected to concur shortly, and Trump is expected to sign the legislation into law next week.

Republican Rep. Jeff Denham and Democrat Rep. Jim Costa have been pushing for additional water storage for the state for years in constantly-at-risk-of-drought California. Since 1979, California’s population has grown 70 percent.

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2 Years of Progress On Water Issues

/in , /by /The Coast News Quoted: Mark Muir

When I started my term as Board Chair of the San Diego County Water Authority in October 2016, California was mired in drought but the San Diego region had sufficient supplies regardless of the weather.

Thankfully, just a few months later, epic rain and snow significantly improved water supply conditions statewide, but not before validating our long-term strategy to develop a drought-resilient portfolio of water resources that protect the region during dry times. In fact, we had enough water to store 100,000 acre-feet of water for the future — a testament to regional foresight, coordination, hard work and investments by ratepayers.

Being able to assure residents and businesses that we had sufficient supplies to sustain our economy and quality of life was the biggest accomplishment of my two-year term as chair, which comes to an end on Sept. 30.

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