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California Irrigation-Drainage Disputes Targeted in New Bill

/in /by /The Fresno Bee by By Michael Doyle

California’s tireless water warriors have something fresh to fight over, with the introduction of a bill to resolve an irrigation drainage dispute that affects three modest-sized San Joaquin Valley water districts, as well as the much bigger Westlands Water District.

The bill by Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, would relieve the federal government of its duty to provide irrigation drainage, and relieve the water districts of their debt. “We’re trying to solve some water problems here,” Costa said Thursday. His bill covers the San Luis, Panoche and Pacheco water districts, which are north of Westlands.

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So the Drought Has You Watering Less? It Won’t Matter Much

/in /by /Los Angeles Times by By George Skelton

Gov. Jerry Brown wants to forbid you from hosing down the driveway. And he is really cranky about lawn watering. But corporate agriculture is free to plant all the water-gulping nut orchards it desires, even in a semi-desert. This is the essence of the governor’s new long-term drought policy that he announced Monday.

Brown intends to make permanent some urban water conservation rules that had been temporary. He also plans to give communities more flexibility to decide how much water they should save, depending on local conditions. But it’s basically hands off agriculture.

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San Diego Explained: SANDAG’s Big Tax Hike Proposal

/in /by /Voice of San Diego by By Lina Chankar

The San Diego Association of Governments wants to put a tax increase on the November ballot. The measure proposes a half-cent sales tax increase on county residents to fund transportation and infrastructure around the county for the next 40 years.

The proposed tax hike already has a number of critics. It’s being opposed by environmentalists and community leaders who don’t like the way the money would be used. About 40 percent of the money would go toward public transit, according to the proposal, including things like a new trolley line from San Ysidro to Kearney Mesa and improvements on existing bus services.

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BLOG: Plant Taps Pacific Ocean As Source Of Drinking Water

/in /by /Water Online Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

With its dedication in December 2015, the $1 billion Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant opened a spigot to the Pacific Ocean, creating a new, drought-proof source of drinking water for 3.1 million people in San Diego County, CA.

As the largest ocean desalination plant in the nation and Western Hemisphere, the Carlsbad Plant is considered the future of water desalination in the U.S. by its proponents.

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Water District Spends $2.2M Telling You to Conserve: Two Days Ago Restrictions Ended

/in /by /MyNewsLAby by Debbie L. Sklar

Two days after it ended restricted water deliveries to its member agencies thanks to improved statewide supply, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Thursday began a $2.2 million advertising effort to encourage residents to continue conserving.

“El Nino helped, but after drawing down our reserves the last four years to record low levels, we all must continue using water as wisely as possible to rebuild those reserves and be prepared for what lies ahead,” MWD General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger said.

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Nevada Prepared for More Lake Mead Cuts Without ‘Drastic Steps’

/in /by /Las Vegas Sun by By Daniel Rothberg

Lake Mead is expected to surpass its historic low after next Wednesday. By the end of June, it is expected to have dropped to its lowest level since the man-made reservoir was created by the completion of the Hoover Dam in 1935. And as the elevation drops, Nevada, Arizona and California are working out a new framework for acceptable reductions in water they receive.

While the federal agency charged with overseeing Western water management says it is unlikely that states will need to reduce water in 2017, the next year could present a bleaker picture.

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Salton Sea a Concern for IID in Colorado River Talks

/in /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs) by By Ian James

Much of the water that California receives from the Colorado River flows to the Imperial Valley, where canals spread out across fields of hay, wheat and vegetables of all sorts, from carrots to broccoli.

Because the Imperial Irrigation District holds the single largest entitlement to water from the river, its participation would be vital in any agreement for California to share in water cutbacks to avert a looming shortage in Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir. But major hurdles remain for the district to support a potential deal, and the reasons begin with the shrinking Salton Sea.

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Murky Water Plagues South County

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune by By Daniel Wheaton

California’s drought means that local waters are carrying more toxins than years prior, according to an ongoing analysis by Coastkeeeper.

Based on Coaskeeper’s analysis, released Tuesday, The San Luis Rey Watershed had the best water quality, followed by the San Dieguito Watershed. Nearly 200 trained volunteers collect and analyze water samples based on their chemistry, nutrients, bacteria and toxicity. Those results are compiled and analyzed, and then each watershed is given a ranking: a score of 100 means that every sample was within an acceptable range for each measurement.

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EBMUD Ends Drought Surcharges

/in /by /San Ramon Patch

Customer conservation combined with a surge in water supplies has prompted East Bay Municipal Utility District directors to vote unanimously to end a drought surcharge that has cost the average household about $8 a month for the past year. Directors approved the 25 percent drought surcharge last June, two months after they declared a stage four critical drought and imposed a mandatory 20 percent reduction in water use for the district’s 1.4 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

 

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Water Autonomy: From Israel to California

/in /by /Jewish Journal (Los Angeles)by By David Siegel Mentioned: Carlsbad Desalination Plant

As we celebrate our water independence, the drought California faces is the worst on record. Hundreds of thousands of farm acres have been left uncultivated, driving up food prices and inhibiting growth. The economic impact has skyrocketed into the billions of dollars. Gov. Jerry Brown has enacted the first mandatory water use reductions in state history and sought assistance from the federal government. How should California respond to this major crisis? The state’s leaders are increasingly turning their gaze toward a tiny desert nation some 7,000 miles to the east.

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