For many communities in the West, the water that flows out of kitchen faucets and bathroom showerheads starts high up in the mountains, as snowpack tucked under canopies of spruce and pine trees.
The Ramona Municipal Water District board of directors will decide Tuesday how to fill the Division 3 board seat for the next two or four years.
Incumbent Director Thomas N. Ace, one of two candidates running for a four-year seat, won the Nov. 3 election according to the final tally called Dec. 3 by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters. But Ace died in late October at age 73, after voting had already begun.
Ace, who had served on the Ramona water board for six years after a 28-year career with the Lakeside Fire Protection District, earned 1,766 votes while challenger Rex Schildhouse, a retired Navy officer, got 1,654 votes. Schildhouse, elected to the board in 2013, resigned the following year.
Farmer Michael Abatti v. Imperial Irrigation District is a landmark decision by the California Court of Appeals concerning the millions of acre-feet of Colorado River water used annually to meet the needs of Southern California’s agricultural empire.
We need water to cook and wash our bodies and clothes, and especially to drink—without it, we can’t live. Despite this, Wall Street traders are going to start betting on it as a commodity.
The fire that rampaged through the San Lorenzo Valley in August and September burned hotter and destroyed more acreage than anyone in these rugged, rural and breathtaking mountains can remember.
Negotiators quietly released a final pared-down water infrastructure bill Friday night, an apparent compromise eked out after the original, sprawling plan hit roadblocks and disagreements.
House members are now slated to cast their votes as early as tomorrow on S. 1811, the “Water Resources Development Act of 2020,” which will come up under suspension of the rules, a way to fast-track noncontroversial measures.
A late-season flurry of flames is sweeping Southern California, driven by high-speed winds surging down the mountains toward the coast. The Bond Fire, which ignited Thursday, has burned more than 7,000 acres and was 50% contained as of last night. Authorities warn that a combination of strong winds and warm, dry weather could increase the risk of more blazes this week.
After this year’s historic wildfires, California’s oldest state park — Big Basin Redwoods — looks more like a logging village than an iconic hiking and camping mecca.
There’s a near constant buzz of chainsaws. Rumblings from trucks and logging skidders fill the air as crews busily cut charred, fallen trees and chop down “hazard trees” rangers worry will topple on to the park’s roadways.
Editors Note: Due to the volume of activity associated with this week’s organizational activities related to the beginning of the 2021-2022 state legislative session, Senator Atkins regretfully had to cancel her appearance during this Thursday’s special Board of Directors meeting, and she expressed her apologies for the unavoidable circumstances and workload that resulted in the cancellation. Fortunately, the Water Authority is honored that state Senator Brian Jones will join the special Board meeting at 2 p.m. Thursday and offer his perspectives on 2020 and his insights on policy and fiscal issues facing California and San Diego County as we advance toward 2021.
California Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins will share her legislative vision and 2021 policy outlook at a special San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, December 10. The webcast of the meeting can be viewed at 2 p.m. here.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll hear from Senator Atkins about energy and infrastructure funding and partnership opportunities,” said Sandra L. Kerl, General Manager of the Water Authority. “This has long been one of the top legislative priorities for water and wastewater agencies – and the pandemic has highlighted the need for continued investments in these projects that produce jobs as well as generational benefits.”
For two 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest winners, the contrasts couldn’t be greater. Melissa and Josh Perrell, Santee homeowners who won the Padre Dam Municipal Water District contest, took a minimalist, less-is-more approach to their front landscape. Tim and Brianna Montgomery, the La Mesa homeowners who won the Helix Water District contest, subscribed to a go big or, well, go home attitude that not only addressed water issues in the context of plants but also in hardscape to prevent flooding.
