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San Diego Nears New Deal with East County Water Project to Avoid Court Fight Over Pump Station

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Blake Nelson

A San Diego committee has approved a series of agreements between the city and a planned water recycling project in East County, potentially heading off a court fight over a plant that could help hundreds of thousands of people. The documents pave the way for San Diego to hand over a pump station to the Advanced Water Purification Project, and for the construction of a pipeline so waste generated by East County can be diverted from the city.

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Bay Area Rain, and the First Significant Sierra Nevada Snow is on the Way. Here’s When It Arrives.

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

Tire chains. Winter coats. Gloves. Remember them? Snow is expected to fall across the Sierra Nevada early next week as a storm from the Gulf of Alaska pushes into California and the rest of the West Coast, bringing a likelihood of light rain to the Bay Area. Although details will become clearer in the next few days, forecasters said Friday that at least a foot of snow is expected to fall at higher elevations on Tuesday in the Sierra, potentially causing visibility issues and the need for motorists to carry tire chains if they are heading over mountain passes Tuesday and Wednesday as temperatures fall.

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How Decades of Hard-Earned Protections and Restoration Reversed the Collapse of California’s Treasured Mono Lake

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Bob Berwyn

When Rose Nelson camped along lower Rush Creek in the summer of 2017, the water was flowing as high and fast as anyone could remember. The rumble and roar of the creek, she said, was the joyful sound of nature healing. “It was the first high runoff after a long drought,” said Nelson, now the education director for the Mono Lake Committee, a nonprofit based in Lee Vining, California.

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As Climate Change Erodes Western Snowpacks, One Watershed Tries a ‘Supershed Approach’ to Shield its Water Supply

/in , , /by /Western Water (Water Education Foundation)by Nick Cahill

The foundation of California’s water supply and the catalyst for the state’s 20th century population and economic growth is cracking. More exactly, it’s disappearing.

Climate change is eroding the mountain snowpack that has traditionally melted in the spring and summer to fill rivers and reservoirs across the West.

Now, with less precipitation falling as snow and that snow melting faster and earlier in parts of major mountain ranges like California’s Sierra Nevada and the Rockies in the West, managers of a major Sierra Nevada watershed east of Sacramento are replumbing their water systems to better handle bursts of rain instead of trickling snowmelt. Their “Supershed Approach” to replace the loss of the once-reliable snowmelt is being touted as a possible model for other Western watersheds that are expected to experience stronger, more frequent snow droughts.

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Public Comment Wanted for MWD’s Recycling Program Pure Water Southern California

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1by Sarah Pilla

MWD has been working on a new source of reliable water called the Pure Water Southern California recycling program, that takes cleaned wastewater and purifies it into high-quality drinking water.

MWD is asking for public comment on this project through Nov. 14.

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Gasca, Irvine, Stewart, Townsend-Smith Seek Rainbow MWD Seats

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Nov. 8 election will include two Rainbow Municipal Water District board seats. Miguel Gasca is the incumbent for the Division 3 seat and is being challenged by Greg Irvine. Bill Stewart was appointed to fill the District 4 vacancy and is being challenged by Patti Townsend-Smith, whose communications preference ran afoul of a monthly data limit.

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New Push to Shore up Shrinking Colorado River Could Reduce Water Flow to California

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

With the nation’s two largest reservoirs continuing to decline, federal officials announced plans Friday to revise their current rules for dealing with Colorado River shortages and pursue a new agreement to achieve larger reductions in water use throughout the Southwest.

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MWD Declares Pala Parcel Surplus

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California declared 41 parcels, including a 14.48-acre parcel on the west side of Pala Temecula Road, as surplus land which is no longer required for MWD’s current and foreseeable needs. The MWD board vote Oct. 11 also authorized MWD staff to take the necessary actions to divest the parcels. Another public agency will have the first option to obtain the land, and if no public agency desires a specific parcel at a mutually agreeable price the land may be sold to a private party.

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Reporter’s Notebook: Here’s Why the Price of Water Fluctuates So Much Across San Diego County

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The cost of water has over last two decades risen dramatically across San Diego County as a result of investments in desalination, ongoing maintenance, ever-increasing energy prices and unprecedented conservation. However, not everyone’s feeling those impacts equally. Rates vary considerably among the region’s two dozen local water agencies, according to an analysis done last year by the Otay Water District. For example, a typical 1,100 cubic feet of water costs about $90 a month in the city of San Diego, compared to nearly $137 in the Padre Dam Municipal Water District.

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Federal Cash Arrives for San Diegans Drowning in Water Bills as Shutoffs Resume

/in , , /by /The San Diego-Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

Thousands of San Diegans are struggling to pay their water bills as shutoffs resume across much of the state. Experts fear the burden will only get worse as the cost of water continues to soar, driven in part by ongoing historic drought.

However, federal emergency cash is now providing temporary relief for many low-income residents — up to $2,000 for unpaid water bills.

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