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New OCWD Director’s Poseidon Alternative

/in , , /by /Surf City Voice (Huntington Beach, Calif.)by John Earl

Kelly Rowe of Costa Mesa stunned the Poseidon underworld when he soundly defeated two-term Orange County Water District board-member Shawn Dewane in the 2018 election. Since 2013, Dewane and OCWD directors Cathy Green, Steve Sheldon, and Denis Bilodeau have fought hard for Poseidon Resources to build a $1 billion ocean desalination plant in Huntington Beach and sign a water purchase agreement with OCWD. Rowe will try to end that obsession by refocusing OCWD’s efforts. The remaining members of Poseidon’s coterie still obsess over Poseidon’s proposed desal deal: buy 56,000 AF of desalinated water every year for 30 years, regardless of need, at 3 or more times the price of imported water sold by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MET) for groundwater basin refills.

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Plan To Stabilize Del Mar Coastal Bluffs Moves Forward

/in , /by /KPBSby John Carroll

Work to stabilize the coastal bluffs through Del Mar is moving forward, following a vote Monday by the Del Mar City Council. Council members approved an encroachment permit Monday night, allowing SANDAG to work on a 1.6 mile stretch of coastline. This is Phase 4 of SANDAG’s bluff stabilization project, which began 18-years ago. Work has already been completed along the bluffs at the end of 11th Street. The circles seen in the dirt to the west of the train tracks are actually the tops of 65-foot tall pilings that stabilize the bluffs.

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Innovative Pipeline 5 Relining Completed

/in , /by /Water News Network

San Diego County Water Authority crews completed relining a segment of Pipeline 5 in Fallbrook and San Marcos in late July, reaching a milestone in a strategic, multi-decade pipeline relining program. The 2.3-mile segment of Pipeline 5 was relined with new steel liners that are planned to last for more than 75 years. The proactive pipeline relining program is a crucial part of asset management efforts that improve the reliability of San Diego County’s water supplies. Since the relining program began in 1991, nearly 47 miles of pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe have been rehabilitated. This constitutes more than half of the total PCCP in the Water Authority system.

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OPINION: Tax On Bottled Water Puts California’s Most Vulnerable At Risk

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Raoul Lowery Contreras

On Aug. 12, California state senators will vote on Assembly Bill 792, which could essentially force all of us to pay millions of dollars more for plastic bottled water or sodas. A nickel here…a nickel there; it won’t be much per bottle. But because there are so many plastic bottles, it quickly adds up to millions of dollars. Consumers will inevitably shoulder the costs, and legislators will inevitably blame corporate greed or environmental measures when confronted about it. Higher-priced bottled water won’t affect average Californians much; either they can afford to not think about the price hike, or they have access to safe tap water.

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State Agency Hopeful Chevron’s Massive Kern County Spill Is Finally Over

/in , , /by /KQED-FM (San Francisco, Calif.)by Ted Goldberg

State regulators say they’re cautiously optimistic that a major release of crude oil from a Chevron well in Kern County — an episode that has continued for three months — is finally over. Chevron told state officials Wednesday that more than 1.3 million gallons of oil and water have flowed to the surface in the Cymric oil field, 35 miles west of Bakersfield, since May 10. An estimated one-third of that, or 445,130 gallons, is believed to be crude petroleum. The spill, which Chevron and the state’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources describe as a “surface expression,” has led to a major cleanup operation near the town of McKittrick.

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Environmental Groups Move To Sue South Bay Refinery Over Mishandling Of Hazardous Waste

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Anna M. Phillips

Several environmental groups moved Wednesday to sue the Phillips 66 refinery in the South Bay, accusing it of years of mismanaging hazardous waste that could pose a health risk to people living near its Wilmington and Carson facilities. The groups’ planned lawsuit comes four years after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency first raised concerns about the oil refinery’s practices. Environmental advocates said their decision to take legal action was the result of frustration with what they said was lax oversight by federal and state regulators. “These violations are significant,” said Mary Greene, deputy director of the Environmental Integrity Project, one of the organizations that plans to sue. “This screams of sloppy housekeeping and poor environmental management.”

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Santa Fe Irrigation District Weighs Options For Water Rate Structures

/in , , /by /Rancho Santa Fe Review (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)by Karen Billing

The Santa Fe Irrigation District continues to evaluate potential water rate increases, aiming to bring forward a proposal for its new rate structure by the end of the year. Last December, the board voted not to adopt a proposal to raise rates by an average of 3 percent over the three years, sending the district back to work with its consultants to come up with a different plan that would be best for ratepayers. The Santa Fe Irrigation (SFID) board is weighing its various options and looking at what revenues are needed to accomplish the district’s capital investments to ensure safe and sustainable local water supply while ensuring that the customer receives the best service possible.

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New State Law Will Require Additional Review Of Water Transfers In The Mojave Desert, Targets Cadiz Water Project

/in , , /by /California Water News Daily

Legislation authored by Sen. Richard Roth (D-31st District-Riverside) and signed last week by California Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to require additional review of the Cadiz Water Project by various state agencies effective Jan. 1, 2020. Adding a new section to the State’s water code known as the “wheeling” statutes, SB 307 will require the State Lands Commission to assess transfers of water from groundwater basins to ensure the transfer won’t, according to Governor Newsom’s bill signing message “unreasonably affect the environment and water dependent ecosystem in the surrounding watersheds.” The law does not regulate all statewide water transfers, only those from the Cadiz area of the Mojave Desert and the groundwater basins involved in the Cadiz Water Project.

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San Bernardino Basin Has Record Recharge

/in , , /by /Highland Community News (Highland, Calif.)by Hector Hernandez Jr.

Nearing the end of the San Bernardino Basin area’s first water year with above average precipitation since 2010-11, San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District reported more than 20 billion gallons of water captured, a new record for captured groundwater recharge. This milestone was reached the last week of July, with two months left in the water year, and represents enough groundwater to serve 180,000 families for one year, according to a conservation district press release. This is a 30-year record with 1987 being the last year this much groundwater was stored into the region’s aquifers. Prior to that, 20 billion gallons of storage had not been achieved since the late 1940s.

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Award-Winning, Time-Saving Tool Created by Sweetwater Authority Employee

/in , , /by /Water News Network

For his initiative in designing and creating a new tool designed to improve safety and efficiency on the job, Sweetwater Authority employee Julio Salazar won the Association of California Water Agencies Joint Powers Insurance Authority H.R. LaBounty Safety Award. The award recognized Salazar for creating a ‘Large AMS Stabilizing Tool.’ Salazar’s design resulted in making the process of replacing 1.5 inch and two inch angle meter stops, or AMS, easier, more ergonomic, and safer. “Our water professionals are industry leaders, finding new ways to work smarter and safer,” said Tish Berge, general manager. “Sweetwater Authority could not be more proud of Julio’s tool and much deserved recognition.”

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