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State Launches Audit of Sexual Harassment Policies at Powerful Southern California Water Agency

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Adam Elmahrek

State authorities approved an audit of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California over its handling of sexual harassment complaints, following allegations that leaders at the powerful water agency tolerated bullying and abuse of women in the workforce.

The audit was adopted during a hearing Wednesday afternoon of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and comes after a Times investigation earlier this year found a pattern of complaints from women enrolled in the district’s trades apprenticeship program.

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CWA Approves Rate Increase, Two-Year Budget

/in , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The San Diego County Water Authority board meeting of June 24 included approval of SDCWA rates and charges for calendar year 2022 and approval of a two-year CWA budget.

Fallbrook Public Utility District General Manager Jack Bebee, Helix Water District board member Joel Scalzitti, and Rainbow Municipal Water District General Manager Tom Kennedy cast the only CWA board votes against the $1,693,496,900 budget covering fiscal years 2021-22 and 2022-23.

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California’s Drought Leads to Cutbacks in Marin County but Not in San Diego

/in , , /by /The Wall Street Journal by Jim Carlton Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

At the southern end of California, residents have been assured their water supplies are secure and plentiful despite the state’s severe drought.

In Marin County, 500 miles north, lawn sprinklers are allowed only two days a week, washing a car at home is banned, and decorative fountains can’t be refilled. The orders are part of an effort by the local water district to cut usage by 40% after a precipitous fall in the local reservoirs.

The pain of a two-year drought drying up the American West isn’t being felt evenly across the country’s most populous state.

That is because Southern California water agencies have for decades invested in new ways to diversify their supplies and recycle what they get, say people who study and work with water in the West. In Northern California, meanwhile, a history of more plentiful rain and snow meant many communities were less prepared for the latest drought and now more homes and businesses must cut back.

 

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Sweetwater Reservoir Now Open on Fridays for Public Use

/in , , /by /Water News Network

The Sweetwater Authority has added another day for the public to enjoy activities at the Sweetwater Reservoir in Spring Valley. Previously open Saturdays through Mondays, the Authority expanded operations to include Fridays to give residents more opportunities to get outside and experience nature this summer.

Starting Friday, July 2,  Sweetwater Reservoir will be open so that San Diego County residents can enjoy fishing, hiking, biking and bird watching.

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As Drought Ravages California, Biden’s Infrastructure Bill Could Help Store More Water

/in , , /by /The Sacramento Beeby David Lightman and Dale Kasler

As California and the West suffer through an epic drought, President Joe Biden and Senate Republicans and Democrats have included $5 billion for Western water projects in their infrastructure deal.

The prospect of federal money comes as several big-ticket water projects are on the drawing boards in California — although many are still years from completion and probably wouldn’t get finished in time to help California with the current drought.

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Santa Rosa Orders Residents, Businesses to Reduce Water Use By 20%

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Omar Shaikh Rashad

The Santa Rosa City Council approved mandatory water-use restrictions for its residents and businesses starting Thursday, becoming the sixth city in Sonoma County to cut back on water.

The motion to approve the water-shortage contingency plan — which mandates residents and businesses reduce water use by 20% — passed with five ayes from Council Members Eddie Alvarez, John Sawyer, Tom Schwedhelm, Mayor Chris Rogers and Vice Mayor Natalie Rogers. Council Members Victoria Fleming and Jack Tibbetts were absent.

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Proposed Federal Grant Program Could Bolster Lake Mead Water Levels

/in , , , /by /Las Vegas Review-Journal by Blake Apgar

Water officials in Las Vegas are backing a federal bill that could help pay for a California project that would leave more water in Lake Mead.

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Historic Drought in the West is Forcing Ranchers to Take Painful Measures

/in , , /by /National Geographicby Sarah Gibbens

On Andrew McGibbon’s 90,000-acre cattle ranch south  Tucson, Arizona, the West’s punishing drought isn’t just drying up pastureland and evaporating water troughs.

“We’re having the death of trees like I’ve never seen in my lifetime. Thousands of trees are dying,” he says of species that have adapted to Arizona’s desert landscape, such as oak and mesquite.

Nearly 1,000 miles from McGibbon’s ranch, near Rio Vista, California, the drought on Ryan Mahoney’s ranch feels just as bad.

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Drought Has Pitted Farmers Against Native Tribes Protecting Endangered Fish

/in , /by /NPR

Along the California-Oregon border, the Klamath Basin is in the midst of a record drought, pitting farmers against native tribes with historic water rights who are trying to protect endangered fish.

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Report: Groundwater Overhaul Could Threaten Drinking Water Of More Than A Million Valley Residents

/in , /by /KVPRby Kerry Klein

As drought settles over the San Joaquin Valley, a new report warns of other circumstances that could result in entire communities losing drinking water. More than a million Valley residents could lose their public water in coming decades under the sweeping groundwater legislation known as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), according to the paper published earlier this month by the non-profit Pacific Institute. Signed into law in 2014, SGMA aims over the next two decades to reduce California’s groundwater deficit by balancing water pumped out of the ground with the amount replenished.

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