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Now is California’s Watershed Moment

/in /by /Fox and Hounds Daily by By Jim Wunderman and Michael Kelly

It is now safe to say that El Niño will not solve California’s drought. Though this should have been obvious from the start, there is a silver lining – it has bought the state more time to put better policies in place to create a sustainable water supply for years to come for all Californians.

We are at a true “watershed moment.” If we take decisive and effective action, our state can thrive within the limits of its current and future water resources. But if we fail to act (or act as we have in the past), the challenges our growing state will face each year will grow.

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OPINION: Fitzgerald: Big Bad Wolf has moved into the neighborhood

/in /by /The Record (Stockton)by Michael Fitzgerald

Southern California’s biggest, thirstiest and most powerful water district is buying a big chunk of the Delta, the very estuary that is dying because outfits like them take too much water.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is going to buy Bouldin, Bacon, Webb and Holland islands in the central Delta, and a chip off Chipps Island near Suisun Bay.

The Met’s boss has said this is mostly about repairing Delta habitat. That’s like the Big Bad Wolf buying the Three Little Pigs’ houses and saying he’s into home remodeling.

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OPINION: Water Conservation Stalls

/in /by /San Diego Union-Tribune

Let’s face it, there is an absolute limit to the amount of water that can be conserved. The continuous statistics about water conserved and the admonishments are unending.

When we follow the recommendations, the rewards are increased water rates and the loss of the gorgeous vegetation that makes California so uniquely beautiful. We, the unrepresented voters, watch helplessly as legislators ignore the obvious way to make California drought-free. They plan to construct impractical, costly miles of underground pipes that will only partially help a small part of the state.

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Feds to Review if Funds Mishandled for California Tunnels

/in /by /Associated Press (As Published by 89.3 KPCC - Pasadena)by By Ellen Knickmeyer

The federal government will investigate allegations that the state and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation improperly used federal funds for a $15.7 billion tunnel project that would bring water from Northern to Southern California.

The inspector general of the U.S. Interior Department will look into accusations that California took $60 million meant for fish habitat to spend on preliminary work for Gov. Jerry Brown’s project and otherwise mishandled federal funds.

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House Republicans Reopen the Bidding on California Water Bill

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

House Republicans intent on storing more California water and redirecting it to farms have resurrected some familiar and controversial ideas, this time as part of a must-pass spending bill.

The provisions, including a freeze on an ambitious San Joaquin River restoration program and mandated pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, are now folded into a Fiscal 2017 energy and water appropriations bill. It’s a new tactical move, designed for leverage.

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San Diego Facing Another Water Rate Hike

/in /by /NBC 7 (San Diego) Quoted: Jason Foster

Southern California homeowners have seen their water rates go up almost 400 percent in 10 years. Now another increase voted on by the Metropolitan Water District will raise rates on its prices for 2017 and 2018.

Jason Foster with the San Diego Water Authority says those prices will get passed on to retail water agencies in the San Diego region and then come out of the wallet of local residents and businesses. “It’s undoubtedly going to be felt by customers throughout San Diego County,” said Foster.

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OPINION: Big Bad Wolf Has Moved into the Neighborhood

/in /by /Stockton Record by By Michael Fitzgerald

Southern California’s biggest, thirstiest and most powerful water district is buying a big chunk of the Delta, the very estuary that is dying because outfits like them take too much water.The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is going to buy Bouldin, Bacon, Webb and Holland islands in the central Delta, and a chip off Chipps Island near Suisun Bay.The Met’s boss has said this is mostly about repairing Delta habitat. That’s like the Big Bad Wolf buying the Three Little Pigs’ houses and saying he’s into home remodeling.

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VIDEO: Effects of Drought and El Niño on California Landscape

/in /by /KUSI

Effects of drought and El Niño on California landscape.

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Southern California Water Agency Signs $175 Million Deal to Buy Delta Islands

/in /by /The Sacramento Bee

Southern California’s most powerful water agency said Monday it has struck a $175 million deal to buy five islands in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a move that has sparked accusations throughout the Delta and Northern California of a south-state “water grab.”

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California revealed the details of its agreement to buy the islands from Delta Wetlands Properties, a company controlled by Swiss financial services conglomerate Zurich Insurance Group.

 

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OPINION: MWD Rate Hike Harms Water Authority, San Diegans

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune by The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board Quoted: Mark Weston

It’s been 25 years since the San Diego County Water Authority decided to broadly diversify its supplies. The authority’s experiences dealing with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California during a severe drought led officials to believe they urgently needed additional sources of water to avoid disaster in a future drought. This triggered a harsh response from the giant water wholesaler. Upset that its largest customer was publicly questioning MWD’s trustworthiness, MWD paid $400,000 to a public relations company for what The Los Angeles Times called a “clandestine effort to discredit San Diego County water leaders.”

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