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EPA’s Move To Fast-Track Orange County Groundwater Cleanup Questioned

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Tony Barboza and Louis Sahagun

When a contaminated aquifer in Orange County made U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s list of top-priority sites for “immediate, intense action,” the local water district was quick to highlight the announcement. But questions of political favoritism are swirling over Pruitt’s decision in December to prioritize cleaning the Orange County North Basin groundwater pollution plume beneath Anaheim and Fullerton using the federal Superfund program. Newly disclosed records show the action occurred soon after a meeting between Pruitt, the Orange County Water District and its lawyers that was arranged by conservative radio and television host Hugh Hewitt.

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Glen Peterson To Retire From LVMWD

/in , /by /The Acorn (Agoura Hills)

After serving on the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District board of directors for over 30 years and on the Metropolitan Water District more than 25, Glen Peterson announced he will retire at the end of the year. The 68-year-old Peterson became a leading expert on water issues in his three decades with water district. “Glen came to the LVMWD board to serve his community, but that service turned into something that became much larger and more significant than the daily operations of a local water agency,” said Dave Pedersen, the Las Virgenes general manager.

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Phase Two Of Construction Begins At Oroville Dam

/in , /by /Action News Now (Chico)by Laura Eng

Crews went back to work again on the Oroville Dam at midnight on Tuesday for phase two of construction. This year, crews will be replacing the temporary walls with permanent structural concrete walls. Crews are removing the temporary roller-compacted concrete walls in the middle section of the main spillway.

 

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OPINION: Hold Water District Board Accountable For Delta Tunnels Vote

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

It’s ludicrous for the Santa Clara Valley Water District board to believe it can steer Gov. Jerry Brown’s $16 billion Delta twin tunnels project by committing to help fund it. The board should stand up to pressure from the state and reject the project when it meets at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday and instead work with California’s next governor on a plan to truly secure a reliable source of water for Silicon Valley while protecting the environmental health of the Delta.

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California Considers Charge On Utility Bills To Create Safe Water Fund

/in , /by /Water Deeply (New York)by Tess Townsend

Gaps in funding for water treatment are a major problem in California. Water providers operate independently, relying virtually entirely on customer fees to cover costs. For agencies with scale, money and access to quality water sources, this model works well. But absent those resources, contamination persists for years without resolution.

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Separating Water And Politics Isn’t Easy In California

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

The 2014 water bond included a novel funding approach designed to take at least some of the politicking out of deciding which projects get public money. This week’s tortured deliberations by the California Water Commission showed just how tough it is to do that. By applying a complex procedure for grading proposals, the bond restricted state taxpayer spending to the pieces of a project that would provide measurable benefits to the public.

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Is WaterFix Another Megaproject Gone Awry?

/in , /by /California Magazine - Cal Alumni Associationby Glen Martin

The 20th century was the century of the megaproject, and as usual, California pointed the way for the nation. Southern California’s freeway system and the State Water Project, both largely completed by the 1970s, were mighty testaments to the conceit that we could build our way out of any problem. That view, of course, has since been tempered by inconvenient realities.

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California Lawmakers Want Expedited Action On Salton Sea Restoration

/in , /by /Capital Public Radio (Sacramento)by Ezra David Romero

California leaders who represent the shrinking Salton Sea want the same kind of expedited action taken on restoring it as the Oroville spillway crisis had in 2017. After the spillway eroded millions of dollars were quickly allotted to fix the dam. A 10-year plan to restore California’s largest lake was adopted last year. Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia questioned the agencies in charge of the project Tuesday at an oversight hearing over why it’s behind schedule.

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San Jose Water Agency Approves Up To $650 Million For Jerry Brown’s Delta Tunnels Project

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

In a significant boost for Gov. Jerry Brown’s $17 billion plan to build two massive tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Delta to more easily move water south, Silicon Valley’s largest water agency Tuesday endorsed the project and voted to commit up to $650 million to help pay for it. With a 4-3 vote after a packed four-hour meeting, the Santa Clara Valley Water District reversed a decision it made in October to oppose the two-tunnel project.

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Brown’s Delta Tunnels Get $650 Million Boost From Bay Area Water Agency

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

A Bay Area water agency agreed Tuesday to pump $650 million into Gov. Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels project, providing a meaningful boost for the controversial $16.7 billion plan. The 4-3 vote by the Santa Clara Valley Water District brings the tunnels project, which would overhaul the troubled heart of California’s aging water delivery network, a step closer to being fully funded. Just a few months ago the project, officially known as California WaterFix, was sputtering for a lack of funds.

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