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‘Ridiculous’ Water Bills. ‘Inordinate’ Hold Times. After Years of Customer Complaints, San Diego is Making Sweeping Changes.

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Garrick

Years of complaints about billing mistakes and hours-long customer-service hold times have prompted San Diego officials to make sweeping changes to the city’s Water Department.

The changes include a new billing system, switching customer service software, new call routing, more payment options and a new policy alerting customers when their bill is being withheld for a leak investigation.

The city is also hiring more customer service workers, paying them more, expanding their training and putting new leaders in charge of their efforts.

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New Tribal Water Institute Will Help Arizona Tribes Navigate Water Law and Policies

/in , /by /az centralby Debra Utacia Krol

A new institute created by a national Native nonprofit law group and a foundation that works to protect rivers will support tribal water rights advocacy, recruit and train the next generation of tribal water attorneys and provide education on tribal water law and policies.

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The Toll of Climate Disasters Is Rising. But a U.S. Report Has Good News, Too.

/in , /by /The New York Timesby Raymond Zhong

The food we eat and the roads we drive on. Our health and safety. Our cultural heritage, natural environments and economic flourishing. Nearly every cherished aspect of American life is under growing threat from climate change and it is effectively too late to prevent many of the harms from worsening over the next decade, a major report from the federal government has concluded.

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3M, DuPont PFAS Settlements Called Inadequate by Cities, Other Objectors

/in , , /by /Reutersby Clark Mindock

Nov 13 (Reuters) – U.S. cities, towns and water districts have challenged proposed class action settlements worth more than $11 billion with 3M (MMM.N), DuPont de Nemours (DD.N) and others, arguing the deals are too generous to the chemical companies accused of contaminating U.S. water with toxic “forever chemicals.”

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The West Is Running Out Of Water. A Heavy Snow Could Help, But Will It Come This Winter?

/in , , /by /USA Todayby Trevor Hughes

Snowfall forecasts for the West’s mountains are critically important this winter after last year’s unusually heavy snow helped improve the region’s long-simmering water crisis, including conditions at Lake Powell and downstream Lake Mead outside Las Vegas.

Another heavy snow year could help reduce the need for water restrictions and help farmers continue producing irrigated crops such as melons, lettuce and almonds.

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Cost To Rebuild Major California Reservoir Rises To $2.3 Billion, Tripling From Two Years Ago

/in , /by /Star Beaconby Paul Rogers

The cost to bring Anderson Dam, which holds back the largest reservoir in California’s Santa Clara County, up to modern earthquake standards has increased to $2.3 billion, water officials said Monday. That’s double what was estimated a year ago, triple the price tag from two years ago, and nearly certain to drive water rates higher next year across Silicon Valley.

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Opinion: Water ‘Divorce’ Election is Manifestation of Larger County Problems

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Customers in two North County water districts overwhelmingly voted to leave a regionwide agency for a simple reason: They can get less-expensive water elsewhere.

But the broader dynamics that led to this moment are complex — and are expected to increase costs for years to come for ratepayers remaining with the San Diego County Water Authority, an umbrella organization currently with 24 member agencies.

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The 20 Farming Families Who Use More Water From the Colorado River Than Some Western States

/in , /by /ProPublicaby Nat Lash, ProPublica, and Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun

As the Colorado River snakes through the deserts of the Southwest United States, its water is diverted to cities, states, tribes and farmers along its course.

Agriculture has always been the largest use of the Colorado River, and California’s Imperial Irrigation District, established in 1911, has among the earliest claims and by far the largest claim to the river.
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First Atmospheric River Storm of the Season Targets California Next Week

/in , , /by /CNNby Mark Gilbert

A major pattern change is set to deliver California’s first atmospheric river of the season next week. Significant rain and snow is in the forecast for the Golden State, while damp, dreary days are ahead for other parts of the West as signs of El Niño’s influence on the upcoming winter season emerge.

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California Farmers are Reeling From Loss of Powerful Congressional Allies

/in , , /by /Politicoby Camille Von Kaenel

California’s agricultural industry – the nation’s largest food producer — is fighting for its political future.

First came the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a staunch Democratic ally who was unafraid of prioritizing farms over endangered fish in the state’s long-running water wars. Then House Republicans kicked Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a native of the Central Valley’s agricultural heartland, out of the speakership.

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