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Sen. Atkins to Share Legislative Vision with Water Authority Board

Editors Note: Due to the volume of activity associated with this week’s organizational activities related to the beginning of the 2021-2022 state legislative session, Senator Atkins regretfully had to cancel her appearance during this Thursday’s special Board of Directors meeting, and she expressed her apologies for the unavoidable circumstances and workload that resulted in the cancellation. Fortunately, the Water Authority is honored that state Senator Brian Jones will join the special Board meeting at 2 p.m. Thursday and offer his perspectives on 2020 and his insights on policy and fiscal issues facing California and San Diego County as we advance toward 2021.

California Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins will share her legislative vision and 2021 policy outlook at a special San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, December 10. The webcast of the meeting can be viewed at 2 p.m. here.

“I’m hopeful that we’ll hear from Senator Atkins about energy and infrastructure funding and partnership opportunities,” said Sandra L. Kerl, General Manager of the Water Authority. “This has long been one of the top legislative priorities for water and wastewater agencies – and the pandemic has highlighted the need for continued investments in these projects that produce jobs as well as generational benefits.”

Two WaterSmart Winners: Budget-Smart Beauty and Colorful Cottage

For two 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest winners, the contrasts couldn’t be greater. Melissa and Josh Perrell, Santee homeowners who won the Padre Dam Municipal Water District contest, took a minimalist, less-is-more approach to their front landscape. Tim and Brianna Montgomery, the La Mesa homeowners who won the Helix Water District contest, subscribed to a go big or, well, go home attitude that not only addressed water issues in the context of plants but also in hardscape to prevent flooding.

In a First, California Considers Allowing Housing Project on San Diego Ecological Reserve

Normally, sitting on the California Wildlife Conservation Board is a feel-good job, mostly consisting of unanimously approving millions in state dollars to protect natural habitats, from mountain meadows in Lassen County to lagoons in Newport Beach.

Does a Dry Fall in Los Angeles Always Lead to a Parched, Fire-Prone Winter?

After a summer of record heat and California’s worst fire season in history, Santa Ana winds have repeatedly buffeted the Southland during a critically dry autumn. Will this warm, dry weather pattern finally come to an end, or will it continue through the winter?

What the Current Dry Spell Means for the Long-Term Local Water Supply

It’s been four years since a protracted drought had Southern Californians taking four-minute showers and turning off the tap during tooth brushing.

Now, with no rain forecast for the foreseeable future and fires once again raging in the southland, the prospect of another drought is looming large, along with its implications.

CWA Vote Entitlement Percentage Down for Rainbow MWD, FPUD, Camp Pendleton

The San Diego County Water Authority board meeting Thursday, Nov. 19, approved the 2021 weighted vote allocations for SDCWA member agencies and the weighted vote for the Rainbow Municipal Water District, the Fallbrook Public Utility District and U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton will decrease from the agencies’ 2020 vote entitlements.

RWQCB Rescinds Waste Discharge Order for Oak Knoll Campground

The Regional Water Quality Control Board rescinded the waste discharge order for Oak Knoll Campground in Pauma Valley.

Opinion: Governor’s Talk On Environment Falls Short When it Comes to the Poseidon Project

Orange County sees past Poseidon’s efforts to buy support for its desalination boondoggle. Why can’t Gov. Newsom? Poseidon Water, a large water development company, has been pushing to build a $1.4-billion water desalination plant in Huntington Beach. Like Poseidon’s underperforming, high-cost plant in Carlsbad, the plant and its inflated water would be paid for by ratepayers.

OC Water Districts File Massive Lawsuit Over PFAS Contaminants

Eleven Orange County water agencies have joined in a lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from DuPont, 3M and others whose carcinogenic chemicals have leached into groundwater aquifers and forced the closure of more than three dozen wells in the central and northern parts of the county.

Upland OKs New $15.4 Million Reservoir to Replace One that Could Fail

After four years of planning, the city of Upland soon will begin construction on a $15.4 million concrete reservoir to replace an old one in danger of failing. The new above-ground, 7.5 million-gallon reservoir will be built adjacent to the old one on the northwest corner of 17th Street and Benson Avenue that was said to be similar to one in Westminster that failed in 1989.