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State: Poway Failed to Protect its Water System, Customers

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby J. Harry Jones

A state water board is faulting the city of Poway for “failing to protect its public water system” and is ordering the municipality to take immediate action to correct a series of violations that led to a week-long boil-water advisory. In a letter that accompanied the official citation, the State Water Resources Control Board said Poway “failed to provide pure, wholesome, healthful and potable water by delivering untreated storm drain water to customers”. The agency also criticized city officials for making comments to the media that confused or worsened the situation, which resulted in nearly 50,000 people being told not to drink their tap water and forced the closure of nearly 200 food-related businesses between Nov. 30 and Dec. 6.

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What to Expect from the Biggest Winter Storm of 2020 to Hit Northern California

/in , /by /abc10by Carly Gomez

A major storm system that has plagued the Pacific Northwest with heavy snow and ice is moved into Northern California on Thursday. The brunt of the storm slammed the Bay Area to Fairfield, around 9 a.m. Sacramento got its fair share of heavy rain around 10 a.m. The heaviest of the rain lasted about an hour, with continued rainfall expected through 1 p.m. As the storm system moves through the valley, the Sierra and Coastal range will be dealing with heavy snowfall through Friday morning.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Administration Seeks Input on Water Plan

/in , /by /The Pressby Tony Kukulich

As Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration attempt to establish a comprehensive and cohesive water policy for the state, officials are seeking public input on the draft water resilience portfolio released earlier this month. The document was issued in response to Newsom’s April 2019 executive order directing his administration to inventory and assess a wide range of water-related challenges and solutions. Completed jointly by the California Natural Resources Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the draft offers more than 100 recommendations designed to help the state manage drought, floods, threatened fish populations and aging water-delivery infrastructure, among other threats.

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Imported Water Helps the Valley Endure Another Year of Drought

/in , /by /Community Newsby San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District

Thanks in part to a wet December that brought heavy snow to the Sierras, 2020 is off to a good start with reservoir storage levels at or above historic averages throughout most of the state – good news for San Bernardino Valley residents. Even though water districts and cities throughout the San Bernardino Valley rely on local rainfall and mountain runoff for about 70 percent of their water supply, local supplies are not enough. The region relies on Sierra snowmelt from Northern California to meet the remaining 30 percent.

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Water Resource Innovation, Hard-Earned Lessons and Colorado River Challenges — Western Water Year in Review

/in , /by /Water Education Foundationby Doug Beeman

Innovative efforts to accelerate restoration of headwater forests and to improve a river for the benefit of both farmers and fish. Hard-earned lessons for water agencies from a string of devastating California wildfires. Efforts to drought-proof a chronically water-short region of California. And a broad debate surrounding how best to address persistent challenges facing the Colorado River.

 

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‘Forever Chemicals’ in Orange County Drinking Water to Force Widespread Well Closures

/in , /by /Los Angeles Daily Newsby Martin Wisckol

The Orange County Water District, which serves 2.5 million county residents, expects to see nearly a third of the 200 groundwater wells in its service area shut down by year’s end because of the presence of toxic PFAS, a chemical family linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage, low birth weight and other health problems.

Nine of those wells have already been closed and 32 more are expected to be closed in coming weeks as state regulators continue to lower acceptable thresholds for the toxins, according to district officials. As many as 31 additional wells could be shut down after testing is expanded later this year.

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FPUD and Rainbow to Work Together on New Supply

/in , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District now have a Memorandum of Understanding to work with each other on new water resource development and emergency supply.

The Dec. 3 Rainbow board meeting included a 4-0 vote with Michael Mack absent to approve the Memorandum of Understanding with FPUD while FPUD’s Dec. 9 board meeting approved the MOU on a 4-0 vote with Don McDougal absent. The MOU provisions include both collaborating on long-term water supply development and working together to improve emergency water supply capabilities.

“It’s just a good opportunity for us to work together and try to save money for our ratepayers,” FPUD general manager Jack Bebee said.

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California Governor Restarts Giant Water Tunnel Project

/in , /by /APby Adam Beam

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s governor has restarted a project to build a giant, underground tunnel that would pump billions of gallons of water from the San Joaquin Delta to the southern part of the state.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration on Wednesday issued a Notice of Preparation for the project, which is the first step in the state’s lengthy environmental review process.

Last year, Newsom halted a similar project that would have built two tunnels for the same purpose. The new project will have only one tunnel, and it will carry less water. State officials don’t know how much it will cost.

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State-Federal Water Deal Takes a Bite From L.A.’s Supply

/in , /by /KCETby Alastair Bland

With virtually no public notice, state officials quietly gave away a significant portion of Southern California’s water supply to farmers in the Central Valley as part of a deal with the Trump administration in December 2018.

One year later, it remains unclear why the California Department of Water Resources signed the agreement, which strips the agency, during exceptionally dry years, of 254,000 acre-feet of water — about what Los Angeles consumes in six months. This change will place extra strain on urban water users during drought years. The agreement could also have potentially disastrous implications for the Sacramento River’s salmon runs, since it will negatively impact river flows and water temperatures.

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New Line Means Fewer Disruptions to Wildlife in Rancho San Diego

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

RANCHO SAN DIEGO — After several years of work, the Otay Water District announced in late December that it completed its $10.3 million Campo Road Sewer Replacement Project in Rancho San Diego near the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge.

The project, which began in September 2017, replaced 1.41 miles of 10-inch diameter sewer main with a 15-inch diameter sewer main. The old main could no longer provide adequate capacity for sewer flows in the area, the district said.

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