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Madaffer Says He’s The New Sheriff In The San Diego Water World

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Ry Rivard Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Jim Madaffer says he’s the new sheriff in town at the San Diego County Water Authority. For anyone who doesn’t follow the intricacies or intrigues of what seems like it should be an agency with a straightforward mission – providing water for San Diego – this may sound like a bit of pabulum. But Madaffer, the colorful former San Diego city councilman who has had numerous other roles on obscure but important agencies, is serious. His first task after he became chairman of the Water Authority board was to clean house.

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Federal Judge Dismisses Key Pieces Of Tribe’s Claim Against Local Water Districts

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Evan Wyloge

A federal judge has dismissed portions of a yearslong lawsuit brought by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians against the Coachella Valley’s local water districts, ruling against the tribe’s attempt to quantify its rights to groundwater. The judge ruled Friday that the tribe’s access to water has not been sufficiently harmed to adjudicate the matter.  The ruling strikes a blow to the tribe’s sweeping 2013 lawsuit aimed at asserting greater control of the groundwater beneath its land.

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Farm To Table Event Highlights San Diego County Products

/in , /by /The Water News Network

Many people don’t realize that a lot of the produce they buy at grocery stores or enjoy in local restaurants is grown right here in San Diego County. In fact, the county is home to more than 5,500 local farms and a $4.8 billion regional agriculture industry fueled by safe and reliable water supplies from the Water Authority and its 24 member agencies. Thursday’s event, called “Graze at the Fields,” is an opportunity for the community to connect with farmers. In addition to enjoying hand-crafted samples and beverages, guests will have a chance to talk with local growers and purveyors to learn about all that goes into producing the finest and freshest local farm products.

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Drought Will Become The Norm By Mid-Century As The Planet Warms

/in , , /by /Long Beach Postby Kelly Puente

In a sea of grassy lawns in Long Beach’s Rose Park neighborhood, Susan Moffett’s yard is a drought-tolerant retreat dotted with lavender, rosemary and pink-flowered abutilon plants. Originally from the Midwest, Moffett grew up with suburban green lawns, but as a landscape designer, she said drought tolerant plants are the necessity in Southern California. “A lot of people don’t realize the magnitude of our water shortage,” she said. “We all have a responsibility to conserve water.” One particularly perilous effect of climate change is the fact that Southern California is expected to become much hotter and drier in the coming decades.

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Endangered Wetlands Offer Vital Wildlife Habitat And A Reason To Fight About Coastal Development

/in , /by /Daily Breeze (Torrance, Calif.)by Martin Wisckol

Between Southern California’s popular beaches and much-traversed mountain trails lies an unsung natural landscape, teeming with its own special wildlife. As you head outdoors to celebrate Earth Day weekend — or to simply connect with nature and leave behind the anxieties of urban life — one option is our area’s often overlooked coastal wetlands. In Orange and Los Angeles counties, more than 90 percent of the estuaries, lagoons and other coastal waters that existed in the 19th century have been lost to roads, buildings and other development. But what remains provides a crucial habitat for resident animals and migrating birds, including several endangered species.

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Imperial Irrigation District Sues To Block Colorado River Drought Plan

/in , , /by /The Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

Just as a long-negotiated agreement for how California and six other Western states will deal with drought on the Colorado River was about to cross the finish line, the river’s biggest user put up a roadblock. The Imperial Irrigation District in southeast California filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking a state court to block the plan until more analysis is done on the accord’s environmental impacts.

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What Drought? These States Are Gearing Up To Draw More Water From The Colorado.

/in , /by /The Gristby Naveena Sadasivam

Wyoming wants to modify the Fontenelle Dam so it can use an extra 80,000 acre feet of water from a tributary of the once-mighty Colorado River. At its headwaters, Denver Water hopes to expand a reservoir’s capacity by 77,000 acre-feet of water. And several hundred miles south, Utah is trying to build a pipeline that can funnel another 86,000 acre-feet out of the river. There are at least six high-profile projects in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming that combined could divert more than 300,000 acre-feet of water from the beleaguered Colorado River.

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Golf Course Will Be Site Of Groundwater Treatment Plant

/in , , /by /Thousand Oaks Acornby Becca Whitnall

In an effort to end Thousand Oaks’ near total reliance on imported water, public works staff is asking the City Council to commit $16.6 million over the next two years to build a groundwater treatment plant at the city’s publicly owned golf course.  The Los Robles Greens Golf Course Groundwater Utilization Project which will be offset with an estimated $6 million in State Water Project (Prop. 1) grants is the single most expensive item on the city’s proposed $97-million 2019-21 capital improvement program budget, which outlines spending on public infrastructure over the next two fiscal years.

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Salton Sea Still In Need Of Restoration Funding

/in , , /by /KPBSby Erik Anderson

A sweeping deal to plan for drought in the Colorado River Basin may yet include the river’s largest water user. The Imperial Irrigation District was frozen out of the multi-state deal when Los Angeles water managers offered to provide water cutbacks if Lake Mead continues to lose water. However, the Southern California water district still hopes to join the federal drought contingency plan.

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IID Sues To Halt Colorado River Drought Plan Signed By Trump, Says Officials Ignored Salton Sea

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson

It’s not over yet. The Imperial Irrigation District has sued to halt a sweeping Colorado River drought plan that was signed in to law by President Trump on Tuesday. Officials with the sprawling, sparsely populated rural water district in southeastern California say the Salton Sea was wrongly left out of the plan. IID holds among the oldest and largest rights to water from the river.  The petition, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges violations of the California Environmental Quality Act by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. It asks the court to suspend the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan until a thorough environmental analysis has been completed.

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