You are now in California and the U.S. category.

Gov. Brown: Get Out Of California Unless You Can Afford It

/in /by /Fox & Hounds Dailyby Aubrey Bettencourt

California’s epic drought is officially over. As drought-related mandatory water conservation orders end, ordinary citizens’ water, sewer, utility rates and other water-related costs continue to rise. East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) recently announced two water rate hikes, one of 9.5 percent in July and another next year of 9 percent. Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) is countering with two increases of 7 percent each. San Mateo residents learned recently of plans to raise their sewage rates 36%. These and other rate-hike stories are common across our state.

Full Story

A Small Invasive Shellfish is Playing Havoc with Central Basin’s Budget

/in /by /The Whittier Daily Newsby Mike Sprague

Resolving contamination issues with the quagga mussel, a small invasive shellfish, could make the difference between a slightly balanced budget and one that is seriously in the red for Central Basin Municipal Water District. The approximate $50.7 million budget, approved Monday by the Board of Directors, projects $1.7 million in revenue coming from selling water to the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. Only right now, there’s no way to get water to the WRD because Los Angeles County won’t allow Central Basin’s supplier, the Metropolitan Water District, to deliver because of the contamination issues.

Full Story

Mission Trails Activists Oppose Proposed Major Gas Pipeline Through Regional Park and Santee Neighborhoods, Agree with SDG&E That Miramar Route Is Safer Option

/in /by /East County Magazine Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

SDG&E and SoCalGas have applied to the California Public Utilities Commission to build a new natural gas pipeline from Rainbow through the Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar to Mission Valley to replace an aging and potentially dangerous line, also boosting capacity and reliability for the region.  But Miramar’s commanding officer is opposing the project on military land—and instead wants to route the pipeline through Mission Trails Regional Park, East Elliott, and Goodan Ranch, including a large pipeline under heavily populated Santee neighborhoods and major roadways including a State Route 52 interchange.

Full Story

Following a Wet Winter, Napa River Fish Trap Yields High Salmon Count

/in /by /Napa Valley Registerby Barry Eberling

Jonathan Koehler is working the biggest fish-trapping contraption on the Napa River and finding out good news about Chinook salmon after a historic rain year. This eight-foot-diameter metal funnel floats half-submerged and rotates as currents hit the inner baffles. Fish swim inside and end up trapped in a water-filled compartment. “It’s sort of like the revolving door at a department store, where you step into it and you have to step inside the store,” Koehler said.

Full Story

State May Stretch Drought-Relief Funding

/in /by /The Porterville Recorder

Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Office of Emergency Services, stated in a letter to Tulare County officials the state will continue to provide some funding for drought relief after June 30. In a letter dated May 9, Ghilarducci stated, “the state will continue to provide temporary funds for up to a year for the delivery of potable water for existing program participants in order to maintain public health and safety.”

Full Story

Wet Winter Produces Record-Breaking Runoff

/in /by /The Turlock Journalby Angelina Martin

Thanks to recent months that saw plenty of rainfall, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is currently holding 1.9 million acre feet of water content – and that’s after the month of April produced nearly a 100 percent increase in acre feet of runoff from April of last year. The snow is expected to continue melting at high volumes, making the 2016-2017 water year the highest runoff year on record. The main months that see snow melt are April, May, June and July, according to Turlock Irrigation District utility analyst Jason Carkeet, but right now – the end of May – to around mid-June is when peak snow melt numbers occur.

Full Story

Modesto Approves Outdoor Watering Three Times a Week

/in /by /The Modesto Beeby Kevin Valine

Modesto residents will be able to water their lawns three times a week for the first time in two years. The City Council on Tuesday night approved increasing outdoor watering from two days to three days a week from June through October. Modesto has limited outdoor watering to once or twice a week depending on the time of year since May 2015. The city is easing up after winter storms drenched the valley and covered the Sierra Nevada in snow. Modesto gets its drinking water from wells and Tuolumne River water treated by the Modesto Irrigation District.

Full Story

Community Briefs: Cal Water Drops Watering Restrictions — But Not So Fast, Bakersfield

/in /by /The Bakersfield Californianby Henry A. Barrios

For a brief moment, the California Water Service Company and the City of Bakersfield were at odds. Cal Water announced Tuesday that it is lifting restrictions that limit customers to three days of outdoor watering per week. But don’t get excited yet, Bakersfield. The fine print says Cal Water will follow local ordinances, and the current City of Bakersfield municipal code prohibits watering more than three days a week. So until the City Council reviews its water ordinance, which it is expected to do later this year, Cal Water customers will not have the freedom to water every day without penalty.

Full Story

Padre Dam Holding Hearing on Proposed Water, Sewer Rate Hike

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

Water and sewer rates for Padre Dam Municipal Water District customers are about to go up.

The board of directors of the Santee-based district is holding a public hearing June 21 to vote on proposed increases and adjustments to water and sewer rates, and service charges.

The rate hikes, if approved, would take effect in November. The average residential Padre Dam customer would pay $154.75 a month for water and sewer services, up from $151.

Full Story

Homeowners Who Let Grass Go Brown to Save Water During California Drought Could Face Fines

/in /by /10Newsby Jonathan Horn

Homeowners who let their grass go brown to save money during the drought may have to turn the sprinklers back on, or else their HOA can fine them. In April, Gov. Jerry Brown declared the drought over for most parts of California, lifting restrictions that kept homeowners associations from disciplining residents who stopped watering their grass to help save money and water. However, those days are over, and HOAs are starting to require families to make all their grass green again.

Full Story