For decades, no matter the weather, the message has been preached to Californians: use water wisely, especially outdoors, which accounts for most urban water use. Enforcement of that message filters to the local level, where water agencies routinely target the notorious “gutter flooder” with gentle reminders and, if necessary, financial penalties.
With Tijuana and other rapidly growing coastal cities heavily dependent on the Colorado River, Baja California urgently needs to find new water sources. Baja California Gov. Francisco Vega de Lamadrid’s administration has offered a solution: Build the largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere, enough to ensure a supply for decades to come. But plans for the reverse-osmosis facility in Rosarito Beach, a project that at full capacity would desalinate 100 million gallons daily, have come under unprecedented scrutiny at a politically sensitive moment.
Two new water bonds slated to be put before California voters in 2018 have received the endorsement of a key water policy group. The Association of California Water Agencies’ board has voted unanimously to support a $4 billion June ballot measure for water and parks projects and an anticipated $8.9 billion November initiative proposed by former state resources official Gerald Meral.
As a cold front from the Gulf of Alaska blasted the Sierra Nevada overnight, temperatures dropped into the 20s in the Tahoe Basin and low 30s in the foothills, creating the perfect conditions for Mother Nature to make snow. Snow dropped as low as 3,000 feet, with the foothills receiving a light dusting that didn’t stick or cause major traffic delays. Locations at 5,000 feet, such as Emigrant Gap on Highway 80 and Strawberry on Highway 50, received up to two inches, while locations at 6,000 feet, including Kingvale and Donner Pass, recorded up to four inches.
Can California still successfully take on big projects or is that part of our history already over? As high-profile infrastructure projects ranging from high speed rail to the Delta Tunnels face an uncertain future, that’s a critical question that lies before our next Governor. We were once known for ambitious projects like the California State Water Project which transformed the state and allowed for rapid development in the Central Valley and Southern California.
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it will not hear an appeal by California water agencies in the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians’ landmark lawsuit asserting rights to groundwater beneath the tribe’s reservation. The Desert Water Agency and the Coachella Valley Water Disitrict had appealed to challenge a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled the tribe has a right to groundwater dating back to the federal government’s creation of the reservation in the 1870s.
Federal regulators have asked the officials who operate Oroville Dam — and who are in charge of the $500 million-plus effort to rebuild and reinforce the facility’s compromised spillways — to explain small cracks that have appeared in recently rebuilt sections of the dam’s massive concrete flood-control chute. In a previously undisclosed October letter, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission told the state Department of Water Resources to document the extent of tiny cracks that have showed up in some of the spillway’s brand-new concrete slabs. FERC also asked DWR what, if any, steps might be required to address the issue.
After a record-hot Thanksgiving weekend, a one-day cold front is expected to move into Southern California on Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters gave about a 30 to 40 percent chance that rain falling in the Central Coast area Sunday night would extend into Southern California on Monday morning. If precipitation does arrive, the weather service said, it was likely to be very light, maybe just sprinkles. The foothills on the coastal sides of the mountains have the highest rainfall potential, up to a quarter-inch.
The Fallbrook Public Utility District board of directors held a special board meeting the evening of Nov. 15 to provide background information regarding proposed water rate increases and to allow customers the opportunity to give their input regarding the rate hikes. FPUD officials were expecting a large turnout and they got it as more than 100 people crammed inside the FPUD board room. A sound system allowed those that weren’t able to get a spot inside the room to hear the meeting while sitting or standing in the courtyard.
Wastewater recycling doesn’t get a lot of love. The idea that you would water your roses with water that you flushed down your toilet leaves most a little squeamish. We know the water has been treated, but we also know where it came from. The technology itself has been around for decades. Padre Dam Water District in Santee has been recycling its wastewater for over 50 years.
