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Desal Project Touts No ‘Significant’ Impacts

/in , /by /Laguna Beach Independentby Allison Jarrell

Plans for an ocean desalination plant in Dana Point are moving forward with the recent release of a draft Environmental Impact Report and an upcoming public meeting to review the report’s findings, which state that if built, the project will not have any “unavoidable significant environmental impacts.” South Coast Water District, which provides water to several south-county cities and some Laguna Beach residents, released the draft report for the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project on May 23, which begins a 60-day public review period. The analysis evaluates the possible environmental impacts of producing desalinated drinking water.

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OPINION: Finding The Right Water Fixes For Orange County

/in , /by /The Orange County Registerby Paul A. Cook

A recent column in these pages accurately described how climate fluctuations every few years can affect water supply in Southern California. And yes, supply variations must be addressed by water resource agencies. A solution being considered by the Orange County Water District, purchasing desalinated seawater from Poseidon Resources, would create a continuous supply of new water — even in the years when we don’t need it. Since we know that the problem is the variability of our water supply, why commit to a $1 billion alternative that does not address the problem of water supply variability?

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Ventura Considers Its Water Supply And What To Do With Problematic Property Owners

/in , /by /Ventura County Starby Arlene Martinez

Reflecting the city’s limited water supply, coupled with the ongoing drought, Ventura should continue to stay in a Stage 3 Water Shortage Event. That’s the recommendation Ventura Water General Manager Kevin Brown will make to the City Council on Monday night. If they approve it, elected officials will be confirming that the city’s water supply remains well below what used to be considered normal or typical conditions. Ventura has been in Stage 3 since September 2014, when the council called for a mandatory 20 percent reduction in water use.

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Cool May Breaks San Diego’s Long Warm Spell

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Robert Krier

San Diego’s warm spell is broken. When the clock struck midnight on Thursday, a 54-month run without a cooler-than-normal month ended. The last time a month was cooler than normal in town was October 2013 — 4½ years ago. It was a remarkable, rare run of warmth. There have been other extended warm spells in the city’s past, most notably in the early 1980s, but none were quite like the one that just ended. What caused the extended warm spell, and what does it mean?

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CVWD Begins Construction On Palm Desert Groundwater Facility

/in , /by /My News LA

Construction is underway on a Palm Desert groundwater replenishment facility, which the Coachella Valley Water District says will add up to 25,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water into the aquifer each year. The new facility will be built in two phases, one placing replenishment ponds just south of the water district’s Steve Robbins Administration Building and another involving the construction of ponds within the Whitewater River Stormwater Channel, between Cook Street and Fred Waring Drive. An estimated completion date was not provided by CVWD.

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Sewage Bacteria Found In Pendleton’s Drinking Water

/in , /by /Military.comby Amy Bushatz

A bacteria common to sewage and feces was found in Camp Pendleton, California’s drinking water last month, Marine Corps officials warned on-base families this week in a notice obtained by Military.com. Base residents received a notice May 29 from the installation’s housing office that coliform bacteria had been found in the water supply during a routine test in April. The notice, dated May 25, says the drinking water is safe and that residents “do not need to boil your water or take other corrective actions.”

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After Years Of Skepticism, San Diego Supports Massive Water Project

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

The San Diego County Water Authority now supports Gov. Jerry Brown’s twin tunnels project, a $17 billion plan to carry water south from the rivers of Northern California. For five years, the Water Authority has been one of the fiercest critics of the plan. It’s worked since 2013 with environmental groups opposed to the tunnels, and it’s spent countless employee hours trying to undermine the project. Just last month, Water Authority representatives tried to prevent Southern California’s largest water agency from spending $11 billion on the project.

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OPINION: The State Knew Disaster Awaited The Salton Sea In 2018 And Didn’t Do Enough. That Has To Change

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times

The Salton Sea is a natural wonder in deep trouble. And for the past 10-plus years, state officials have known this problem would grow worse if action was not taken by 2018. So while the Imperial Irrigation District honored its legal commitment to pour water into the shrinking Salton Sea until 2018, the state has backed away from its responsibility for funding for remediation. Now the water has stopped and more and more of the sea’s toxin-laden shoreline is being exposed.

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OPINION: Seawater Desalination Is Water Independence For Orange County

/in , /by /The Orange County Registerby Denis Bilodeau

Managing our existing water supplies and planning for future needs requires thoughtful deliberation. Significant fluctuations in the manifestation and intensity of seasonal weather conditions, symptoms of climate change, are becoming the new normal and there is no “one size fits all approach” to dealing with its effects. Consider that, in just this current decade, California has gone from its most severe drought to one of its wettest winters in recorded history, and now back to a below-average winter snowpack this year.

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San Diego Officials Warn Against ‘Water Tax’

/in , /by /Voice Of San Diegoby Sara Libby Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Assembly this week passed a gun control measure that would let employers, co-workers and school employees seek gun violence restraining orders that could allow law enforcement to seize the guns of someone who’s exhibited threatening behavior. Two Republicans crossed the aisle to vote for the bill, Catherine Baker of Dublin and San Diego’s Brian Maienschein. Though Republicans generally oppose gun-control measures, Baker and Maienschein’s votes shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

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