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State Bill is Just a Little Too Late

/in , /by /Voice of San Diego Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

A bill that would have made it harder for two water districts to break up with the San Diego County Water Authority lost a bit of steam late last week.

What happened: The state Senate Appropriations Committee passed AB 399 to the Senate floor for debate but got rid of a clause that would have allowed the bill to become law more quickly.

The bill would require that voters across the county approve any water district’s desire to leave the Water Authority. And that clause was important to the bill’s supporters because it would have stopped two districts from leaving.

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California Water Purification Facility Marks Major Milestone

/in , , /by /Water Finance and Management by WFM Staff

The Chino Basin Program (CBP), a program led by the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) and partners, has reached a significant milestone as environmental engineering firm Brown and Caldwell completes the preliminary design of a new 13.4 million gallons per day Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF), a vital component of the innovative water program.

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New Permanent Water Conservation Rules Are Coming to California — See How Your City Will Be Affected

/in , , /by /The Mercury Newsby Paul Rogers

Dozens of California cities could be required to impose permanent water conservation measures starting in about a year — and keep them in place even when the state is not in a drought — under proposed new rules from state water regulators.

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Hilary ‘Reshaped the Landscape’ of Death Valley; Storm Damage Closes Park, Maybe for Months

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

Clouds of thick white dust billowed through Death Valley National Park this week as crews maneuvered bulldozers and Big Cats to clear the remnants of a rare and record-breaking tropical storm.

On Aug. 20, Tropical Storm Hilary tore through the park near the border of Nevada, dropping more than a year’s worth of rain — 2.2 inches — in one day, forever transforming one of the hottest and driest places on Earth.

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As Colorado River Shrinks, California Farmers Urge ‘One-Dam Solution’

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

For years, environmentalists have argued that the Colorado River should be allowed to flow freely across the Utah-Arizona border, saying that letting water pass around Glen Canyon Dam — and draining the giant Lake Powell reservoir — would improve the shrinking river’s health.

Now, as climate change increases the strains on the river, this controversial proposal is receiving support from some surprising new allies: influential farmers in California’s Imperial Valley.

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In Split Vote, San Diego County Supervisors Wade into Hotly Debated Water Dispute

/in , , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Jeff McDonald Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego County supervisors have formally weighed in on a contentious — and increasingly costly — plan by two rural water districts to break away from a regional authority they say is too expensive.

The county board voted 3-1 this week in favor of a recommendation from Supervisor Joel Anderson to support state legislation that would require approval by a majority of all voters within the regional water authority — rather than only those residents of a breakaway district.

“This process would allow water customers of all (San Diego County Water Authority) member agencies to decide what is best for our region’s water future and the potential implications of their own water bills,” the former state senator told his board colleagues.

While the letter from Anderson to his board colleagues did not specifically mention the Boerner bill, the implication was clear.

The East County supervisor said county water authority members should not be able to withdraw from a broader group of water districts through a ballot measure limited to their own constituents.

Leaving the regional authority would unfairly stick fellow districts and their ratepayers with long-term capital costs, he said.

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The World’s Largest Dam Demolition Has Begun. Can the Dammed Klamath River Finally Find Salvation?

/in , , /by /Cal Mattersby Rachel Becker

Oshun O’Rourke waded into the dark green water, splashing toward a net that her colleagues gently closed around a cluster of finger-length fish.

The Klamath River is wide and still here, making its final turn north to the coast as it winds through the Yurok reservation in Humboldt County. About 150 baby chinook salmon, on their long journey to the Pacific, were resting in cool waters that poured down from the forest.

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States at the Forefront of Fights Over Wetlands Protections After Justices Slash Federal Rules

/in , , /by /AP Newsby John Flesher and Michael Phillis

A month after the U.S. Supreme Court severely restricted the federal government’s power to oversee wetlands, the Republican-dominated North Carolina legislature handed state agencies an order: Don’t give the ecologically crucial waters any more protection than newly weakened federal rules provide.

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US is Coming Clean on PFAS in Drinking Water

/in , /by /Engineering News-Recordby Pam McFarland, Mary B. Powers, Debra K. Rubin

Congress has allocated billions of dollars to address contamination caused by the ubiquitous class of “forever” chemicals known as PFAS—with billions also earmarked in recent legal settlements with manufacturers—but drinking water managers, construction sector experts and other stakeholders say the true cost of cleanup could be much higher.

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Will Northern California See Another Stormy Winter This Year? Here’s What Experts Predict

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Bee by Hanh Truong

This summer’s heat seems to be easing down as temperatures decline to the 70s and 80s , a reminder that seasons are changing and winter is coming. In June, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association officially declared an El Niño, predicting that it will strengthen in the northern hemisphere this winter. But it’s too soon to know exactly what this winter will look like for California.

 

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