The joke on social media after Donald Trump’s victory early Wednesday was that the tears of liberal Californians would refill the state’s reservoirs and end the drought.
Since that doesn’t seem to have worked, it’s now a matter of waiting to see what policies the president-elect might push after Inauguration Day. And on that front, Delta advocates aren’t holding out much hope.
California’s drought is forcing farmers across the state to squeeze the most out of every last drop of water, but what if it was possible to grow a bountiful crop with no water at all? One local winery is doing just that, with a centuries-old technique enjoying a renaissance in parched California. A soft breeze is blowing through Amador County, where the birds are chirping, the flags are flying and the wine is flowing at Andis Wines. For winemaker Mark McKenna, “It’s a dream come true.”
California’s drought is forcing farmers across the state to squeeze the most out of every last drop of water, but what if it was possible to grow a bountiful crop with no water at all?
One local winery is doing just that, with a centuries-old technique enjoying a renaissance in parched California. A soft breeze is blowing through Amador County, where the birds are chirping, the flags are flying and the wine is flowing at Andis Wines. For winemaker Mark McKenna, “It’s a dream come true.”
A California ballot measure that could put two of Gov. Jerry Brown’s legacy projects on the line was trailing slightly in incomplete counting late Tuesday. With more than 5 million votes counted, the “no” vote against Proposition 53 reached 50.9 percent, with a lead of 98,568. The ballot measure would make the state get voter approval before launching any state project needing $2 billion or more in revenue bonds. Brown supports a $64 billion high-speed rail project and two proposed giant tunnels costing $15.7 billion to carry Northern California water for use by Central and Southern California cities and farms.
The City Council will consider increased water and wastewater rates Nov. 16. Per month, single family households that use 10 units of water, or 7,480 gallons, may see a $1.36 increase in water rates, and pay $1.21 more for wastewater. Higher water rates cover increases in the fixed service rate, unit cost and imported water pass-through charges.
Increased wastewater rates pay for greater fixed monthly charges, fixed service charges and wastewater flow charges. Greater rates keep services operating by covering increased costs for energy, treatment, regulatory compliance, maintenance and replacement of facilities and infrastructure.
Among the changing red and yellow fall leaves of Yosemite National Park, nature artist Penny Otwell is marveling at the fullest rushing waterfalls and rivers she’s ever painted there in autumn. But down in the dry Southern California suburbs, David Cantuna laments the same dead and dying grass in his backyard. California’s historic drought finally is easing in parts of the north, thanks to October rains that were three or more times the norm.
Two of Gov. Jerry Brown’s legacy projects were on the line Tuesday, as Californians decided whether to require a statewide vote for any state mega-project requiring $2 billion or more in revenue bonds. If Californians approve the revenue-bond measure, Proposition 53, Brown’s plans for $64 billion in high-speed rail and $15.7 billion for two giant tunnels that would carry Northern California water south may have to face their own statewide votes. Brown, who is pushing to launch both projects before he leaves office in 2018, has made defeating the ballot measure a priority.
Customers of the Santa Fe Irrigation District, who saw their water bills go up by an average of 9 percent on June 1, face another rate hike of as much as 15.8 percent on Jan. 1, 2017. At its meeting on Nov. 17, the board of directors of the district, which serves customers in Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks Ranch, will consider the second installment of a three-year rate plan approved in May. That plan calls for three annual rate increases, averaging 9 percent per year.
Most people think access to water is a God-given right, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. History is filled with legal precedents trying to resolve basic water rights; essentially sorting out the “haves versus the have nots.” Even today, in water-scarce areas like South Africa and the Middle East, unstable governments are allowing private companies to provide water services. Unfortunately many of these large corporations are callously controlling limited water resources making access to this life-giving substance an economic burden for the poor.
Is California still in a drought? It’s a question a lot of people are asking these days, especially after the state abandoned mandatory conservation earlier this summer. The situation is made even more confusing by some stakeholders who are talking out of both sides of their mouth about California’s water supply availability in an effort to try to shift all of the burdens of the drought on to the environment, fisheries and other stakeholders. Two recent letters from the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) are a perfect example of the double-speak on the drought.
