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Overcharged DWP Customers Could Get An Additional $50 Million In Refunds, New Lawyers Say

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Emily Alpert Reyes, Dakota Smith

The deal had been touted as a win for aggrieved L.A. ratepayers who had been hit with grossly inflated bills from the Department of Water and Power: A settlement of a class-action lawsuit that would provide refunds or credits for 100% of what they were wrongly charged, according to the utility. One of the attorneys who represented customers who sued the utility called the agreement a “home run.” It was eventually expected to return more than $67 million to ratepayers. Now a new set of attorneys have taken over the case after accusations that lawyers engineered the lawsuit and 2017 settlement to help the city.

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Scrutiny Grows Over Whether Small, South County Water District Can Afford Desalination Plant

/in , , /by /The Orange County Register

The small South Coast Water District has taken key steps toward construction of a $110 million desalination plant, but the agency faces growing questions of whether it’s in over its head for the ambitious project to be built near Doheny State Beach. The project’s ocean-friendly technology has won praise from the same environmentalists fighting a desalter plant proposed by Poseidon Water for Huntington Beach, one of several things that distinguish the south county plant from the more controversial project to the north.

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Water Agencies Help Avoid Tax On Drinking Water

/in , , /by /Water News Network

After years of effort, water agencies across San Diego County and the state have helped to prevent an unprecedented tax on drinking water while ensuring funding for clean water initiatives in disadvantaged communities. On July 24, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that provides $130 million annually for the next 10 years to clean up polluted drinking water, mainly in the Central and Salinas valleys. Over the past three years, several proposals in Sacramento have proposed raising that money with a tax on residential water bills. Water industry groups, including the San Diego County Water Authority and several local retail agencies, were among the broad coalition of water, business and civic interests that opposed the tax.

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Another Hot, Muggy Day With Afternoon Thunderstorms Ahead For San Diego

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

A chance of thunderstorms will persist Thursday in most parts of San Diego County as the mercury continues to rise heading into the weekend. Thunderstorms will be possible in the inland valleys, the deserts and the mountains Thursday afternoon, according to the local office of the National Weather Service. Partly cloudy skies are expected in the coastal areas. The skies are expected to clear throughout the county by Friday morning, meteorologist Jimmy Taeger said. The chance of measurable precipitation has been set at 20 percent Thursday for the inland valleys, the mountains and the deserts, according to the weather service.

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SCV Chamber Joins Californians For Water Security Coalition

/in , /by /Santa Clarita Valley News (Santa Clarita, Calif.)

The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce has joined the Californians for Water Security Coalition to help advocate on behalf of the SCV, which relies on water sourced through the California State Water Project. The state’s current water delivery system faces outdated infrastructure, earthquake hazards, and misallocation issues that put the water security of the Santa Clarita Valley at risk. In Southern California alone, nearly 30 percent of water used by residents comes from this vital delivery system. “California has experienced water scarcity and supporting this coalition and its efforts will help our region advocate for a secure water supply,” said Nancy Starczyk, chair of the Board of the SCV Chamber.

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La Mesa Conservation Garden Wins 2019 Otay Water District WaterSmart Landscape Contest

/in , , /by /Water News Network

La Mesa residents Bob and Shan Cissell’s conversion of 2,500 square feet of thirsty irrigated lawn into a creative conservation garden was selected by the Otay Water District as the winner of its 2019 WaterSmart Landscape Contest. The annual competition recognizes landscape redesign projects among 13 participating San Diego County water agencies which best represent water-efficient landscaping principles. Inspired after their participation in the Water Authority sponsored WaterSmart Landscape Makeover Program courses, and by the Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon, the Cissells began their La Mesa Conservation Garden project in April 2018 by removing the sod. They incorporated creative elements including a hand-built waterfall made from an old truck ladder rack, and other solid materials otherwise destined to become trash in a landfill.

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Volunteers On Horseback Inform Residents On Upgrades To Water System Serving Compton, Willowbrook

/in , /by /ABC7 (Los Angeles)by Amy Powell

COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) — Volunteers on horseback rode down the streets of Compton Sunday, informing residents of upgrades coming to their water supply. Compton’s equestrian community had riders on horseback going around the neighborhood, handing out flyers with information to residents who live in the old Sativa Water District that serves nearly 7,000 residents in Compton and Willowbrook. Phase one for a new water supply begins Monday. As part of ongoing infrastructure repair, the Los Angeles County Public Works Department will make start flushing out the system and make an emergency connection to Liberty Utility, a neighboring water company.

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Mayor Garcetti Pushes Out Top DWP Executive After FBI Raids

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby David Zahniser, Dakota Smith, Emily Alpert Reyes

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday sought to reassure the public in the wake of FBI raids at the Department of Water and Power headquarters, announcing that he had pushed out the agency’s top executive months ahead of his planned departure. Garcetti’s announcement came as activists called for more forceful action at the DWP, which has been reeling from a scandal over the city’s response to a disastrous rollout of customer billing software at the utility. “It’s very clear to me that, given the events of the last 24 hours, we need to have a utility that people can trust and leadership they can trust,” Garcetti said in an interview.

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Kern County Spills Still Growing, Chevron To Appeal

/in , /by /KQED News (San Francisco)by KQED News Staff

As Chevron Gets Ready to Appeal State Order, Kern County Spill Continues to Grow. One of the largest oil spills our state has seen in decades is still growing. The oil giant Chevron told regulators almost a million gallons of fluid has burst through the ground near the site of one its oil wells about 30 miles from Bakersfield. Chevron also told state officials it plans to appeal an order from regulators calling for it to “take all measures” to stop the spill and ensure it doesn’t happen again.

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Close To $3 Million Of Water Has Reached Ventura County’s Overstressed Groundwater Basin

/in , /by /Ventura County Star (Camarillo, Calif.)by Cheri Carlson

Close to $3 million worth of water has rushed down the Santa Clara River over the past several weeks to recharge groundwater basins in the Oxnard Plain. The release was part of a deal between the United Water Conservation District and Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency to help recharge aquifers still struggling after years of drought. United told the Fox Canyon board it could purchase extra water from the California Water Project thanks to a particularly wet winter statewide. Fox Canyon then would buy roughly 15,000 acre-feet of water once it made it to spreading ponds near Oxnard and Camarillo.

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