As states begin to reopen from coronavirus-related shutdowns, a wave of unpaid utility bills coming due will not only saddle Americans still out of work with new debt, it could also drive up rates for everyone.
And the $900 million that Congress provided in the CARES Act to help low-income households pay their utility bills won’t be nearly enough to ease the problem, advocates and experts say.
The latest dustup In California’s water wars, as noted in Dan Walters’ commentary, revolves principally around the federal government’s efforts to increase the amount of water supplied to farms and cities by the Central Valley Project, and a breakdown in cooperation between the state and federal government.
The pandemic-induced recession has come at a critical time for water planning in the state. The governor’s administration in January pitched ambitious proposals to help fund the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and cushion its impacts on farmers and local communities. In the May Revision of the budget proposal, however, all but one funding allocation from an earlier proposition have been withdrawn.
Over the scorching hot Memorial Day weekend, hundreds of people headed to Tiscornia Beach near the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers, one of the region’s most popular swimming areas. A few days earlier, state scientists had collected water samples with rates of E. coli bacteria that reached the highest limits of the testing equipment. The samples on May 12 and May 21 at Tiscornia Beach were at least seven times higher than state and federal standards for E. coli in a waterway.
Federal courts have delivered a string of rebukes to the Trump administration over what they found were failures to protect the environment and address climate change as it promotes fossil fuel interests and the extraction of natural resources from public lands.
A Regional Water Board vote on the desalination plant in Huntington Beach could be filed within the next two months, but is the project on thin ice after several questions and concerns were raised during a virtual workshop?
While San Diego beaches and golf courses have reopened for recreation, some lakes in East County remain closed. Lake Murray is one of three lakes in the county currently open for recreation, but there are four others managed by the city of San Diego and people want access to those as well.
House Democrats will focus this summer on passing essential legislation, including the Water Resources Development Act, a highway reauthorization bill, and appropriations measures, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday.
Several regional water supply projects in San Diego County are on track to receive more than $15 million from the California Department of Water Resources, pending a final decision on the grants this summer.
Money for the projects has been recommended by DWR, which will make the awards after a public comment period.
In San Diego County, the grant funds would support local agencies to advance conservation, environmental enhancements, water purification and other initiatives.
The Chula Vista Elementary School District’s “Innovation Week 2020” from May 26 to 29 will make a virtue of going virtual, inviting the community to participate along with its students in four live science education events. The activities include a Hydro Station lesson about groundwater aquifers.
