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FPUD Staff Receives Bebee’s Performance Bonus

/in , , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

Jack Bebee, general manager of Fallbrook Public Utility District, earned his performance bonus but will not receive that money.

A 5-0 FPUD board vote, Aug. 24, gave the $5,000 that Bebee would have received to the rest of FPUD’s staff. Each staff member will receive a $75 stipend.

“Instead of paying me a performance bonus this year, we divided the money that was set aside,” Bebee said. “My recommendation to the board was to do that. They’re incurring more challenges during this period that I am.”

When all staff positions are filled, FPUD has 67 employees including Bebee. Three positions are currently vacant, so 63 FPUD employees will receive a stipend.

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After the Blazes: Poisoned Water and ‘a Flood on Steroids’

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Hannah Northey

Historic wildfires raging from California to Colorado are weakening watersheds and setting the stage for deadly mudslides and flooding and, in some places, threatening to poison critical water supplies.

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FPUD to Refinance Debt for Wastewater Treatment Plant

/in , , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Fallbrook Public Utility District will be refinancing its debt for the wastewater treatment plant.

A 5-0 FPUD board vote, Aug. 24, approved the development of a financing plan and debt documents. FPUD expects to reduce its payments by $1.1 million over a 15-year period, or approximately $73,000 annually.

“With the current low interest rate environment, we had the opportunity to save a substantial amount of money,” Jack Bebee, FPUD general manager, said.

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Fourth Grade Artists Win Water Awareness Poster Contest

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Three fourth grade student artists were honored by the Olivenhain Municipal Water District Board of Directors at its September 9 meeting as the winners of the District’s 2020 Water Awareness Poster Contest. This year’s theme asked students to illustrate how they “Love Water, Save Water.”

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Southwest Contracted for North River Road Sewer Repairs

/in , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

Southwest Pipeline & Trenchless Corp. was given the Rainbow Municipal Water District contract for the second phase of the North River Road Land Outfall pipeline repairs.

A 4-0 Rainbow board vote Aug. 25, with Helene Brazier abstaining, awarded Southwest the contract for the company’s bid amount of $608,968. That phase will line high-priority sections with cast in place pipe. Approximately 9,000 feet of pipe will be included in that rehabilitation.

“It’s an important project to ensure the reliability of our wastewater service,” Tom Kennedy, Rainbow general manager, said.

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Mexican Water Wars: Dam Seized, Troops Deployed, at Least One Killed in Protests About Sharing with U.S.

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Patrick J. McDonnell

Mexico’s water wars have turned deadly.

A long-simmering dispute about shared water rights between Mexico and the United States has erupted into open clashes pitting Mexican National Guard troops against farmers, ranchers and others who seized a dam in northern Chihuahua state.

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La Niña May Worsen Southwest Drought This Winter

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Henry Fountain

Climate forecasters said Thursday that the world had entered La Niña, the opposite phase of the climate pattern that also brings El Niño and affects weather across the globe. Among other impacts, La Niña has the potential this winter to worsen what are already severe drought conditions in the American Southwest.

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Arizona, Other States Challenge Proposed Utah Pipeline that Would Divert River Water

/in , , /by /Arizona Daily Starby Tony Davis

Arizona and five other Colorado River Basin states are challenging a proposed pipeline that would divert to a booming Utah community almost as much river water as Tucson uses every year. Six of the seven river basin states — all but Utah — wrote to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Tuesday, seeking a delay in publishing a final environmental review, and in making a final decision, on the Lake Powell pipeline.

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Opinion: The Future Has Arrived. These Explosive Fires are our Climate Change Wakeup Call

/in , , /by /The Guardian by Peter Gleick

Like millions of people in the western United States this week, I woke up to deep red, sunless skies, layers of ash coating the streets, gardens, and cars, and the smell of burning forests, lives, homes, and dreams. Not to be too hyperbolic, but on top of the political chaos, the economic collapse, and the worst pandemic in modern times, it seemed more than a little apocalyptic.

Too much of the western United States is on fire, and many areas not suffering directly from fire are enveloped in choking, acrid smoke.

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How Record-Smashing Heat Invited Infernos to the West

/in , , /by /E & E Newsby Thomas Frank

Two weeks ago, the Pine Gulch Fire became the largest wildfire in Colorado history when it grew to an area nearly the size of Chicago. The 139,000-acre blaze, ignited July 31, was fueled by another record: The area where the fire occurred experienced its hottest August in at least 126 years.

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