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Opinion: Gov. Newsom: California Must get Past Differences on Water. Voluntary Agreements are the Path Forward

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Gov. Gavin Newsom

Water is the lifeblood of our state. It sustains communities, wildlife and our economy—all of which make California the envy of the world.

Reliably securing this vital and limited resource into the future remains a challenge, especially with a warming and changing climate.

For more than a year, my Administration has worked to find a comprehensive solution for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta—a path to immediately improve the health of these waterways, create certainty for the 35 million Californians who depend on these water sources, and maintain the economic vitality of the Central Valley.

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What Does Atmospheric River Mean? How the ‘Pineapple Express’ Impacts the West Coast

/in , , /by /FOX News by Travis Fedschun

Throughout the year, a weather system known as an “atmospheric river” can impact the West Coast of the U.S., causing flooding, heavy snow and possible mudslides.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines an atmospheric river as a huge plume of subtropical moisture that moves with the weather, carrying water roughly equivalent to the average flow at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

“Atmospheric rivers are relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere – like rivers in the sky – that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics,” the NOAA states.

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Local Agencies File Management Plans for Aquifers

/in , /by /Ag Alert (Sacramento) by Christine Souza

The deadline passed at the end of January for local agencies representing 19 of the state’s most stressed groundwater basins to submit plans for how the basins will reach sustainability during the next 20 years. It’s a milestone in implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

Speaking during the annual California Irrigation Institute conference in Sacramento last week, Tim Godwin of the California Department of Water Resources said the department is now reviewing the submitted plans. DWR will ultimately grade the plans as adequate; incomplete, which gives agencies 180 days to submit clarifying information; or inadequate, which requires DWR to consult with the State Water Resources Control Board on next steps.

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Poway City Council Votes to Give Money Back to Customers After Boil Water Advisory

/in , /by /NBC 7 San Diego by Audra Stafford

Thousands of people in Poway will receive a small break on their water bill after Poway City Council voted 4 – 1 to distribute varying amounts of bill credits.

At its meeting Tuesday night, the council approved spending up to $420,000 to issue one-time credits to those impacted by the week-long Boil Water Advisory in November 2019.

Residents noticed discolored water coming from their faucets in late November, and the city issued a Boil Water Advisory the next day.

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Cal Am Facing Permit Dilemma

/in , /by /KSBW 8 (Salinas, Calif.)by Kristina Lucarelli

California American Water’s Plan for a desalination plant hit a major hurdle last month when the California Coastal Commission told the company it is not ready to make a decision on its permit.

The news came in a letter dated January 28, 2020 and it recommend Cal Am pull its current application and resubmit at a later date. The Coastal Commission cited its likely inability to make a decision in time to meet its own internal deadline per the Permit Streamlining Act.

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Water Bill Credits Approved by Poway Council

/in , , /by /Rancho Bernardo News Journalby Steve Dreyer

Poway City Council members voted 4-1 Tuesday night to give most city water customers small credits on an upcoming bill due to last year’s six-day boil water advisory.

The average customer will see a one-time credit of about $28.72 in March or April, depending on which bimonthly billing cycle the customer is on. This includes a $5.29 credit on the fixed rate and $23.43 for commodity equal to 1/8th of the bimonthly bill. Seventy-seven percent of all water customers will have a commodity credit of between $10 and $50, depending on how much water they typically use.

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Cold Snap Sets Sub-Freezing Records in El Cajon, Ramona and Vista

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Debbie L. Sklar

A bone-chilling cold snap brought freezing temperatures across the San Diego area Wednesday, sending the mercury dipping as low as the 20s and high teens in part of the county.

A bone-chilling cold snap brought freezing temperatures across the San Diego area Wednesday, sending the mercury dipping as low as the 20s and high teens in part of the county.

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Newsom Administration Trying Again for a River Flow Deal

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

The Newsom administration Tuesday floated a proposal to avert a protracted legal battle over new state standards that would make some of California’s biggest water users cut their river diversions to help struggling fish populations.

State officials see a settlement as the linchpin of administration water policies that have been bogged down in the perennial conflicts over the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a source of water for much of California and home to some of its most threatened native fish.

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LAFCO Report Recommends County Taking Over VC Parks

/in , , /by /Valley Roadrunner by David Ross Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

As expected, San Diego County LAFCO’s Municipal Service Review of the Valley Center Municipal Water District, Valley Center Fire Protection District and VC Parks & Rec District (which is referred to in the report as  VC Community Services District)—now available for public review—includes a recommendation that the County take over the parks district, and that the parks be put under a standalone County Service Area that would be run by the County, although with an advisory committee that would probably start with the current board of directors. 

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Judge Brooks Anderholt Takes Mike Abatti Contempt Lawsuit Against IID Under Submission

/in , , /by /Imperial Valley News

Imperial, California – The Imperial Irrigation District appeared before Imperial County Superior Court Judge Brooks Anderholt, Tuesday, to defend itself in a contempt-of-court lawsuit filed by farmer Mike Abatti. This is an extension of the litigation brought against the district by Abatti in 2013 that challenged IID’s Equitable Distribution Plan, and is currently on appeal before the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

In his latest legal challenge to IID’s water rights and operations, Abatti asked the trial court to find IID in contempt for violating the judge’s August 2017 order prohibiting the district from entering into any new industrial water supply contracts until it implements an EDP based on water history.

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