The City Council’s Environment Committee gave tentative approval Thursday to a proposal to ratchet back water-use restrictions, following reports of ample local supply.
If the change from a Level Two Drought Alert response to a Level One Drought Watch is given final approval by the full San Diego City Council at a future meeting, water conservation efforts would become voluntary, though city officials will continue to urge efficient use.
The Obama administration is awarding $48 million in grants in 13 states, mostly in the West, to help farmers and others conserve water and energy amid drought and climate change.
The money will pay for improvements to irrigation and water delivery systems as well as provide technical assistance for planning and engineering conservation measures. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the grants Thursday in Brighton, just outside Denver. He was in Colorado to speak at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen on Friday.
San Diego officials are considering ratcheting back water use restrictions and are scheduled to present their plans Thursday to the City Council’s Environment Committee. If the change from a Level Two Drought Alert response to a Level One Drought Watch is approved, water conservation efforts would be voluntary, allowing residents to water their lawns more than two days a week. City officials will still encourage residents to water no more than three days a week, and continue other conservation efforts.
Southern California’s smaller cities and large businesses must take the threat of a crippling earthquake far more seriously than they have been, a committee of business, public policy and utility leaders said Thursday, saying action is needed to “prevent the inevitable disaster from becoming a catastrophe.”
Despite strides made by the city of Los Angeles to focus on earthquake safety, Southern California still faces significant threats that haven’t been resolved.
The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors Thursday voted to raise rates 5.9 percent for treated drinking water and 6.4 percent for untreated irrigation water in 2017.
The Water Authority cited increasing expenses for imported water and the need to pass on higher costs for water from the desalination plant in Carlsbad. The SDCWA, which delivers water to 24 local agencies and districts that distribute to customers, also cited the impact of state-mandated conservation on its budget.
The Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) has unanimously approved and signed an agreement with J.F. Shea Construction to build a $110 million state-of-the-art water treatment plant that will enable WRD to develop the first locally sustainable groundwater basins in California. “This is an exciting day,” said WRD Board of Directors President Willard H. Murray, Jr. “The Los Angeles region has a long and sometimes colorful history of importing water to quench our thirst. With this project WRD will be turning a corner in our water history.
Two counties in California and an environmental group have partnered together to file an appeal against Southern California’s biggest water supplier, blocking its purchase of the Delta farm islands.
Contra Costa and San Joaquin counties, along with Restore the Delta group, have sued Metropolitan Water District in an attempt to stop its plan to buy the islands, which comprise 20,000 acres of wetlands. The group said the plan is an attempt at a water grab to move Delta water to Southern California.
California and Victoria, Australia, are both drought-prone states that face major challenges in managing freshwater-dependent ecosystems and native species during dry times. Both states have experienced intense controversy over balancing water for environmental needs and agricultural and urban uses. But while California’s environment has suffered greatly during its latest drought—with many species pushed to the brink of extinction—Victoria avoided serious biological losses during an even longer drought. Equally important, Victoria enacted a suite of policy changes that improved water management for all sectors, not just the environment, and reduced conflict.
The San Diego County Water Authority board of directors on Thursday voted to raise rates 6.4 percent for untreated water and 5.9 percent for treated water in 2017.
The water authority cited increasing expenses for imported water and the need to pass on higher costs for water from the desalination plant in Carlsbad. The water authority, which delivers water to 24 local agencies and districts that distribute to customers, also cited the impact of state-mandated conservation on its budget.
Judge Michael Kenny of the Sacramento Superior Court today ruled that the Delta Plan is “invalid” after a successful legal challenge by multiple Delta parties who argued that the controversial plan is not protective of the water quality or the fish species that depend on fresh water flows for their survival.
The Court, in its tentative ruling vacating the plan, said the Delta Stewardship Council must redo the Delta Plan to include a number of quantitative measures of performance, including reduced reliance on the Delta for future water needs by exporters.
