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California Delta A Flash Point For Conflict As Climate Change Unfolds

/in , /by /Water Deeplyby Matt Weiser

California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is vital to water supplies for 25 million people and 4 million acres of farmland. It is linked to the Pacific Ocean via San Francisco Bay, which makes this water supply uniquely vulnerable to sea level rise. Yet understanding sea level rise in the Delta is complicated. The largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas, it consists of some 70 islands and more than 1,000 miles of levees. It is also fed by California’s two largest rivers, which drain the Sierra Nevada range.

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In Reversal, Santa Clara Valley District May Provide $650 Million To Brown’s Delta Tunnels Plan

/in , /by /San Jose Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers
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Want To Ditch The Lawn? Turf Removal Rebates Are Coming Back

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Rene Lynch

Need a financial incentive to rip out your water-sucking lawn in favor of something a little more drought friendly? Here it is: The Metropolitan Water District is bringing back landscape rebates, starting in July: The district will offer a rebate of $1 per square foot of turf removal. And, depending upon where you live, you might get an additional incentive on top of that from participating member agencies.

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Commentary: California’s Water Project A Smart Investment

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Randy Record

Leaders of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California recently had a historic choice to make regarding our largest imported supply from Northern California via the State Water Project. We could either provide the funds necessary to ensure that the full modernization project known as California WaterFix could move forward. Or we could fund a fraction of it and hope the funding and project would somehow materialize. We also could delay and debate some more.

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Water District Wagers Billions Of Ratepayer Dollars On Bay-Delta Project

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Mark Muir Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

A fundamental fact has been lost in the discussion of Metropolitan Water District’s recent decision to underwrite most of the cost of the California WaterFix: MWD knowingly overpaid by billions of dollars with no certainty of return on its big gamble. The agency’s own documents clearly show that MWD won’t get any more water for spending $10.8 billion on two giant water-conveyance tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta than it would for spending $5.2 billion on a single tunnel.

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State Bill Proposes First-Ever Tax on Drinking Water

/in , /by /KMIR (Palm Desert)

The first ever proposed tax on water usage is making its way through the California State Assembly. SB623, the “Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund” bill, would charge every household in the state an additional 95 cents a month, which would pay to operate treatment plants in rural areas where water is polluted. Under existing law, the California Drinking Water Act requires that the State Water Resources Control Board provide resources ensuring drinking water safety, and the tax would supply money for the fund to finance water improvement projects throughout the state.

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Yes on Proposition 68 To Preserve Parks, Protect Water Supply, and Enhance Our Climate Resilience

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timeby Editorial Staff

Proposition 68 would allow California to sell $4.1 billion in bonds to pay for desperately needed improvements in parks and water systems. It’s a sound investment. Failing to upgrade our infrastructure now would likely mean higher costs in the future. The bond sale would, of course, require interest payments over the years, but they would appear to be well within the guidelines for prudent financing. Californians should vote yes. There are a lot of good things in this bond.

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As Drought Conditions Persist in West, Leaders Criticize Arizona District’s Policy

/in , /by /Grand Junction (Colo.) Daily Recordby Dennis Webb

A lawyer with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office says the state, and for that matter most Colorado River Basin states and the federal government, are “not OK” with an Arizona water district’s reported strategy of avoiding conserving water so it can generate larger-than-normal releases of water from Lake Powell. Karen Kwon, who works on water issues for the office, was sharply critical of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District as she spoke in Grand Junction Wednesday at a joint meeting of four roundtable groups representing various basins of the Colorado River watershed in western Colorado.

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Editorial: No DWR at Lake Oroville? It Could Happen

/in , /by /Chico Enterprise-Recordby Editorial Staff

The sausage-making process in the state Legislature usually takes a bill and waters it down in the spirit of compromise. So it was a pleasant surprise when the Legislature took Lake Oroville dam safety legislation and made it stronger. That happened Tuesday in the Capitol, and Assemblyman James Gallagher had to be pleased.

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Opinion: Prop. 68 Is An Investment In California’s Future

/in , /by /San Jose Mercury Newsby Walter Moore

Here in the Bay Area, we’re surrounded by the bounties of nature – the mountains define our region, the beauty of our beaches is world renowned and the bay provides sweeping vistas that can make even the most seasoned travelers stop short. Yet, we understand that natural resource protection is a dynamic process and one that cannot rest in the face of the increasing threats of climate change and the uncertainty of federal government support.

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