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Feds to Spend Nearly $400 Million to Fix Whittier Narrows Dam

/in , /by /Whittier Daily News by Mike Sprague

Under pressure to refurbish the Whittier Narrows Dam, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released plans to spend $393.2 million on the facility as part of its Dam Safety and Seepage program, U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano announced Monday afternoon.

A year ago, Napolitano, D-El Monte sent a letter urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make safety repairs at Whittier Narrows Dam its highest budgetary priority in light of an assessment that said the barrier could fail in the event of a very large, very rare storm.

 

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The Artful California Native Garden By CNPS

/in , , /by /San Diego Reader

The California Native Plant Society-San Diego Chapter presents its eighth annual Garden Tour, The Artful California Native Garden: Native Gardens and Art Tour of East County. Spend the day exploring and learning from these gardens that illustrate plants that create habitat, dry stream-bed bioswales, adjacent natural areas, water catchment devices, slope gardens, charming water features, bridges, sculptures and more. Enjoy meeting artists in many of the gardens who will be creating and selling their California native garden themed artwork and crafts Be inspired this Spring!

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Opinion: A Safe and Healthy Water Supply and Our Commitment to You

/in , , /by /Valley Roadrunner (Pauma Valley, Calif.)by Gary Arant Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Every time you turn on the tap to draw water to drink, cook or bathe, you expect that the water will be safe and healthy to use, and that’s what you should expect. That’s not true in every part of the World, or even in some parts of California, but it is true here in the Valley Center Municipal Water District service area.

We are confident in saying that our highest priority here at VCMWD is managing, monitoring and testing the water supply to ensure it meets all stringent federal and state drinking water standards.

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Harris & Associates Given Rainbow MWD Design Contract for Pipeline Upgrades

/in , , /by /Village News by Joe Naiman

Harris & Associates has been awarded the Rainbow Municipal Water District contract for the design portion of the district’s next pipeline upgrade project.

A 4-0 Rainbow board vote Jan. 28, with Helene Brazier absent, authorized Rainbow general manager Tom Kennedy to execute a contract with Harris & Associates and appropriated the $399,540 Harris & Associates will be paid.

“This is the second phase of our ongoing effort to take care of our highest-priority pipelines,” Kennedy said.

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Lake Jennings Hosts Kids Fishing Day

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Hundreds of pounds of rainbow trout were biting for participants on Saturday during the sixth annual Kids Fishing Day at Lake Jennings in Lakeside.

The event started in 2015 has been an annual highlight ever since its inception. Kids ages 9 and under fished for free all day Saturday at the Kids Pond, which is a 20-by 20-foot cube within the lake.

Recreation Manager Kira Haley says Lake Jennings was stocked with 2,000 pounds rainbow trout from Wright’s Rainbows in Thatcher, Idaho the week of February 3. Eight hundred pounds went directly into the Kids Pond, which is then attached to the floating accessible fishing dock.

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A February Without Rain Could Boost Wildfire Danger in Northern California

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Michael Cabanatuan

Meteorologists say much of Northern California likely will not see a drop of rain in February, heightening concerns that summer will arrive with below-average rainfall and tinder-dry hillsides susceptible to wildfire.

It’s too early to declare the rainy season a bust, as there could be huge storms in March and April. But a bone-dry February would make it nearly impossible to catch up to seasonal expectations, meteorologists warn.

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In Wildfire’s Wake, Another Threat: Drinking Water Contamination

/in , , /by /InsideClimate Newsby Neela Banerjee

Even as bushfires push into new swaths of Australia, the communities close to and within the nearly 30 million acres that have already burned are starting to reckon with a complex, expensive aftermath: fire’s threat to their drinking water.

It’s a vexing problem that a growing number of people around the world have had to cope with over the last two decades, as climate change fuels hotter, bigger fires that destroy forested catchments and consume towns and their water systems, engineers and scientists said.

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Southern California Climate Change Over 100,000 Years

/in , , /by /Eos by Kate Wheeling

Southern California is one of only a few places outside the Mediterranean Basin to enjoy a Mediterranean-like climate. Mild summers and wet winters have long supported some of the state’s (and the country’s) most bio diverse locations. But Southern California is warming faster than nearly anywhere else in the contiguous United States, and climate projections for the state forecast higher temperatures and increasingly erratic precipitation—conditions that could drive the Mediterranean region farther north and leave in its place a subtropical desert.

 

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State Agencies Present Framework for Voluntary Agreements to Improve Habitat and Flow in the Delta

/in , , /by /California Water News Daily by California Water News Daily

The California Natural Resources Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency released a framework for potential voluntary agreements to improve river flows and habitats in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta last week.

The framework, which expands on previous commitments, outlines a 15-year program that would provide substantial new flows for the environment to help recover fish populations, create 60,000 acres of new and restored habitat, and generate more than $5 billion in new funding for environmental improvements and science.

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Opinion: Hard to Swallow Newsom’s “Voluntary Agreements” Under the Threat of Doom

/in , , /by /The Sunby Wayne Western Jr.

First things first: you’d be wise to forget everything you’ve read or heard recently about “voluntary agreements,” which according to the usual suspects, will bring a just and peaceful end the seemingly never-ending battle over California water.

Not true. Not even close.

To be crystal clear: “voluntary agreements”, no matter who crafts and agrees to them, would result in more money and even more scarce surface water leaving the Valley.

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