The Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors will begin the New Year with Norma Galindo as its president. Galindo was elected Monday afternoon to replace Erik Ortega for the next one-year term. Director Alex Cardenas will take over as vice president, replacing James Hanks.
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The San Diego County Water Authority’s board offered Thursday to settle a long-running dispute over rates with the giant Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
For decades now, the Metropolitan Water District headquartered in Los Angeles has been selling water to San Diego County, water that’s mostly piped in from the Colorado River. From the perspective of the San Diego County Water Authority, it hasn’t been a very good deal for San Diego.
Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer says San Diego has been paying higher rates, in part to subsidize other water agencies. He hopes that bringing an end to the lawsuits will ultimately help consumers.
Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer tells KUSI News Reporter Sasha Foo about the offer the Water Authority has made to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California that would end litigation between the two wholesale water suppliers. Screenshot: KUSI News/Water Authority
The offer asks MWD to make $140 million in payments to San Diego County water customers to cover claims from 2011 through 2020 and, in the future, follow new procedures in setting water rates.
The Water Authority delivers wholesale water supplies to 24 retail water providers, including cities, special districts and a military base in San Diego County.
Watch the entire video report here: https://www.kusi.com/water-authority-offers-settlement-to-end-mwd-litigation/
Border Patrol agents say human smugglers are exploiting the Tijuana River Valley culvert system meant to drain raw sewage at the U.S.-Mexico border; putting agents, emergency responders and migrants at risk for drowning and exposure to highly toxic substances.
The leadership of two water districts have taken the unprecedented step of voting to begin the process of detaching from the San Diego County Water Authority — a move they say will save their ratepayers millions of dollars.
The votes by the boards of the Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District this month begins a formal process that could take 18 months or longer and potentially involve a countywide vote.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s board offered Thursday to settle a long-running dispute over rates with the giant Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
The offer, made following a special board meeting, asks MWD to make $140 million in payments to San Diego County water customers to cover claims from 2011 through 2020 and, in the future, follow new, transparent procedures in setting water rates.
“The Water Authority’s proposal would benefit residents across San Diego County, enhance understanding of how MWD’s rates are set, and provide more opportunities for our agencies to collaborate in ways that would benefit water management across the Southwest,” said Water Authority Board Chair Jim Madaffer.
He said the offer “reflects our board’s strong desire to work with MWD without being under a cloud of litigation, while protecting the interests of San Diego County residents.”
After initially balking, the Salton Sea Authority board of directors on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution supporting Imperial County’s declaration of an emergency at the fast-shrinking sea.
An environmental organization has filed a lawsuit against the West Basin Municipal Water District over its November approval of a large seawater desalination plant proposed along the coast just north of Manhattan Beach’s border with El Segundo, alleging that the water district ignored significant environmental issues in its assessment of the project.
Riverside County supervisors today approved the allocation of $350,000 from an environmental improvement fund to support efforts to restore the dying Salton Sea.
In a 5-0 vote without comment, the supervisors authorized the disbursal from the Coachella Valley Air Quality Enhancement Fund to help pay for the planned north end restoration of the 360-square mile lake, which will include the establishment of a lagoon to overlay exposed playa and mitigate the resulting atmospheric impacts.
With the recent heavy rains, our water supply may not be at the top of everyone’s worry list. Even so, last week the San Diego County Water Authority gave an update on the future of water in our region.
The boards of the Rainbow Municipal Water District and the Fallbrook Public Utilities District have each adopted resolutions of application to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority.
