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Water Commission: Conveyance Projects Panel Discusses Imperial Valley to San Diego Pipeline

/in , /by /Maven's Notebook Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The Water Resilience Portfolio directs the Water Commission to assess the state’s role in financing conveyance projects that could help meet the needs in changing climate, a task that the Commission has taken on wholeheartedly in recent months.

At their November meeting, the Commission heard from two panels: the first panel was from project proponents who discussed conveyance projects being proposed by their organizations.

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Can Biden Get an Infrastructure Deal Done Despite Capitol Hill Gridlock?

/in , /by /Construction Dive by Joe Bousquin

Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama made infrastructure initiatives central goals of their administrations, as President-elect Joe Biden has similarly pledged to do, only to be stymied at delivering on those promises.

Industry watchers, politicians and public works contractors are all wondering if Biden will also hit a wall with his promised infrastructure package. The president-elect said his administration will invest $2 trillion into the economy, creating millions of jobs in infrastructure, housing, building construction and other projects.

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OC Water Districts File Massive Lawsuit Over PFAS Contaminants

/in , /by /The Orange County Registerby Martin Wisckol

Eleven Orange County water agencies have joined in a lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from DuPont, 3M and others whose carcinogenic chemicals have leached into groundwater aquifers and forced the closure of more than three dozen wells in the central and northern parts of the county.

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Opinion: Will Others Follow SNWA’s Lead on Conservation?

/in , /by /Las Vegas Sunby Kyle Roerink

Water conservation isn’t cheap. But it’s not as pricey as 300-mile pipelines and water grabs.

The SNWA also approved a rate increase that will likely result in about a $10 hike in residential water bills by 2026 in order to pay for current and future projects.

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State Water Officials say First Snow Survey Set for December 30th

/in , /by /KSRO Santa Rosa

State water officials say the first manual snow survey of the new season is set for December 30th. The Department of Water Resources is hoping for a wet December after seeing practically no rain in the first two months of the new water year. California recorded zero rain in October, and only 53% of the average rainfall in November.

Most of the state’s largest reservoirs are running well below their historic averages for December 1st. Lake Shasta at 75% capacity was 119% of its average this time last year. Lake Oroville at 61% capacity is down from 90% one year ago.

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Opinion: California Must Bypass Water Politics and Work Toward Solutions For Our Thirsty State

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Robbie Hunter

California’s water wars are epic. They’ve inspired Hollywood productions and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism. Water has been the source of both great wealth and great poverty in California. A fellow Irishman, James Mulholland, who was born around the corner from where I was and even baptized in the same church, delivered water to the City of Los Angeles with what was described as “chicanery, subterfuge … and a strategy of lies.”

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Upland OKs New $15.4 Million Reservoir to Replace One that Could Fail

/in , /by /Daily Bullitenby Steve Scouzillo

After four years of planning, the city of Upland soon will begin construction on a $15.4 million concrete reservoir to replace an old one in danger of failing. The new above-ground, 7.5 million-gallon reservoir will be built adjacent to the old one on the northwest corner of 17th Street and Benson Avenue that was said to be similar to one in Westminster that failed in 1989.

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California’s Oil and Gas Regulator Approved Hundreds of New Wells Without Required Oversight

/in , /by /KQEDby Nina Sparling

The agency responsible for regulating California’s oil and natural gas industry violated state rules by approving hundreds of new wells in 2019 without proper review, according to a recent audit. The state Department of Finance’s review of California’s Geologic Energy Management Division found numerous violations, including inadequate environmental and safety reviews and a failure to follow current guidelines.

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LADWP Replacing Critical Areas Along its 7,000 Miles of Water Pipeline with Earthquake Resilient Ones

/in , /by /ABC7 Los Angelesby Alex Cheney

Local utilities are looking for new ways to make Southern California earthquake safe, and one way is by replacing aging water pipes.
The new pipes could help keep the water flowing after a big one hits. LADWP is replacing critical areas along its 7,000 miles of water pipes in Los Angeles with earthquake resilient pipes to ensure water is still flowing after the shaking stops.

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Winter’s Dry Start Prompts Low California Water Allocation

/in , , /by /AP News

California’s water managers on Tuesday preliminarily allocated just 10% of requested water supplies to agencies that together serve more than 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.

The state Department of Water Resources cited the dry start to the winter rainy season in California’s Mediterranean climate, along with low reservoir levels remaining from last year’s relatively dry winter. Winter snow typically supplies about 30% of the state’s water as it melts.

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