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Marin Water Utility Set to Begin Studies of New Supply Options

/in , /by /Marin Independent Journalby Will Houston

The Marin Municipal Water District is preparing to launch more in-depth studies of new water supply projects, beginning with assembling consulting teams. The district board is set to vote on contracts with new consulting teams next month to begin preliminary technical, environmental and engineering studies of larger, more complex projects. The projects include expanding local reservoir storage, constructing a brackish Petaluma River desalination plant and installing new pipelines to transfer Russian River water directly into local reservoirs.

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Opinion: Climate Change Will Undermine Quest by Fallbrook and Rainbow for Cheaper Water

/in , /by /Times of San Diego by Chris Jennewein Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The long-running debate over whether the Fallbrook and Rainbow communities should leave the San Diego County Water Authority to obtain cheaper rates ignores a very large elephant in the room — climate change.

If the two rural communities cast their lot with Riverside County, their agricultural economy will depend upon the Colorado River and the State Water Project, both of which have been reeling from increasingly severe droughts.

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Hurricane Hilary Barrels Toward Southern California, Bringing Unprecedented Dangers

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Grace Toohey, Hayley Smith, Rong-Gong Lin II, Connor Sheets and Jeremy Childs

With Hurricane Hilary fast bearing down on the region, officials issued a tropical storm warning for a swath of Southern California Friday night — meaning tropical storm-force winds are expected in the region within the next 36 hours.

Southern California was already bracing for a rare and potentially destructive weekend. Such lashing winds would be only one of the storm’s potentially dangerous impacts, with forecasters also predicting intense rain, flash flooding in the desert and mountain areas and harrowing conditions along the beaches.

The storm has prompted officials to cancel events and issue dire alerts, particularly as the system moves across southwestern California on Sunday and Monday.

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Loveland Reservoir Expected to Spill Early Next Week Due to Tropical Storm, Flooding in Area Likely

/in , , /by /Sweetwater Authority

Chula Vista, Calif. – Due to expected heavy rainfall from tropical storm Hilary, Sweetwater Authority expects unplanned water releases, or spills, from Loveland Reservoir in Alpine, California may occur early next week. These potential unplanned water releases, together with expected abundant storm runoff, could cause flooding in areas downstream. Residents in the Sweetwater River flood-plain asked to prepare in order to reduce possibility of damage to property.

(Editor’s note: The Sweetwater Authority is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego County region.) 

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States Have Started Negotiating New Rules to Keep the Colorado River From Crashing. Here’s What They Want

/in , , /by /CPR Newsby Michael Elizabeth Salas

The states that share the Colorado River need to negotiate new rules to better manage the dwindling river so it can continue to meet the needs of millions of people across the Southwest. That means finding ways to keep more water in the river and reservoirs, which means less water to go around.

The high-stakes, multi-year negotiation process between the states — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico in the upper basin and Arizona, Nevada and California in the lower basin — along with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, officially kicked off in June.

By the start of 2027, the states and the federal government are expected to have a new agreement on rules to manage the river so that Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country’s largest reservoirs, don’t hit critically low levels. Climate change and overuse have stressed the river system and helped drive both reservoirs to drop to record-low water levels.

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Poway City Council Approves Plan to Issue $38M in Bonds for Water Storage Project

/in , , /by /Poway News Chieftainby Julie Gallant Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Poway City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to issue up to $38 million in bonds for construction of two 4 million-gallon concrete water tanks at the Lester J. Berglund Water Treatment Plant.

Building the tanks to replace an outdated 10 million-gallon water storage reservoir near Lake Poway is the city’s largest capital improvement program since it incorporated in 1980, said Shadi Sami, principal civil engineer of Poway’s public works department.

The new water storage system is needed to provide safe and reliable water service now that the existing system has reached the end of its useful life, she told council members. The new concrete tanks are expected to be durable and long-lasting, she said.

(Editor’s note: The City of Poway is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego County region.) 

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Hurricane Hilary on Path Toward Southern California

/in , /by /CBS Newsby Kerry Breen

A storm headed in the direction of Southern California has been upgraded to a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said in a public advisory early Thursday morning. It is expected to bring heavy rainfall to parts of the state after hitting Mexico.

The storm’s remnants are likely to bring flooding rain as well as strong winds to some parts of California, including the Los Angeles Basin, The Weather Channel reports. Heavy rainfall is expected to impact the Southwestern United States from Friday through early next week, according to the hurricane center.

(Editor’s Note: Updates on Hilary from NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.)

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Hurricane Hilary Forms Off Mexico’s Pacific Coast and Could Bring Rain to US Southwest

/in , /by /AP Newsby Associated Press

Hilary strengthened into a hurricane off Mexico’s Pacific coast Thursday, and it could bring heavy rain to the U.S. southwest by the weekend.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center is reporting that Hilary had maximum winds of 85 mph (140 kph) and was expected to strengthen into a major hurricane and perhaps skim the coast of the Baja California peninsula by the weekend.

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Charts Show Lake Mead, Powell Water Levels Change Amid Low Storage Warning

/in , , /by /Newsweek by Anna Skinner

Two charts show an improving trend in Lake Mead and Lake Powell water levels after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) issued a low storage warning for the former on Tuesday.

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County Completes First Segment of $250m Plan to Prep Flood Channel for 100-year Storm

/in , , /by /Daily Pilot by Sara Cardine

County officials Tuesday convened in Huntington Beach to celebrate the revitalization of a 1-mile segment of a flood control channel, a vital first step in a $250-million collaboration with federal partners to reduce Orange County’s flood risk.

During an on-site news conference near a portion of the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg channel north of Warner Avenue, between Goldenwest and Springdale streets, Orange County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Andrew Do explained the significance of the project.

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