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OPINION: Will Lawsuits, High Costs Put End to Brown’s Water Tunnels Plan?

The first time Jerry Brown was governor of California, his greatest policy defeat came when resentful Northern Californians voted almost unanimously in 1982 to reverse a legislative vote authorizing a massive ditch around the delta of the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. This was called the Peripheral Canal; it aimed to bring Northern California river water to the farms of the San Joaquin Valley and cities in Southern California.

Meet the Megaflood: How ‘The Other Big One’ Could Devastate S.D.

You’ve heard of The Big One. Now meet The Other Big One – a massive statewide flooding catastrophe that could cripple California for months or years. Researchers think a megaflood is just as likely to hit the state as a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, and has the potential to cause three times as much damage. San Diego County alone would suffer $25 billion in losses under a doomsday “atmospheric river” scenario created in 2011 by dozens of researchers during which a series of heavy storms would slam the northern and central parts of the state.

Nine Dams in San Diego County Ranked Below Satisfactory on Safety, Newly Released State Data Reveals

The State of California on Friday released data on dam safety in California which found nine percent of dams statewide fall below satisfactory and could pose potential hazards in severe storms or earthquakes—including nine dams in San Diego County. The data previously, kept secret due to terrorism concerns, was disclosed after the Oroville dam spillway failure triggered concerns raised by the public and media, including East County Magazine, which recently put in a request for dam safety data in San Diego.

Water Board Urged to Implement Stipulated Order

A head of next week’s workshop regarding the draft stipulated order for the Salton Sea, the State Water Resources Control Board has already begun to receive comments urging them to move forward with the plan as early as possible. On Sept. 7, the water board will have a public workshop in which it will review the proposed plan formally called Draft Stipulated Order – which was negotiated between the Imperial Irrigation District, Imperial County, the San Diego County Water Authority, the California Natural resources Agency and others.

Most of San Diego’s 54 Dams In Good Shape, But 9 Only ‘Fair’

The 54 dams in San Diego County are in pretty good shape, though some could present dangers in extreme circumstances, the state Department of Water Resources announced Friday. The agency’s Division of Safety of Dams released assessment data on 1,249 dams under its jurisdiction that included downstream hazard classification and any reservoir restrictions. The information reflected the most recent physical inspections and “comprehensive re-evaluations” by DSOD engineers and engineering geologists, as well as technical analyses performed by dam owners, according to the agency.

OPINION: The Water Authority Is Not Driving Up Water Usage

The headline on an Aug. 31 Voice of San Diego story about the San Diego County Water Authority’s efforts to navigate complex operational challenges was, well, all wet. VOSD proclaimed that “Water Officials Hope to Drive Up Water Usage” – an idea that runs counter to decades of water-use efficiency and conservation efforts by our agency. In fact, the Water Authority is not trying to drive up water usage. Rather, we are developing strategies to accommodate changes in water use, specifically demands that remain well below pre-drought levels. Those are two very different things.

County Water Board Asks Judge to Toss Suit Over Secret Meetings

The San Diego County Water Authority has asked a court to throw out a June lawsuit that aimed to open the door on private meetings long held by authority board members. A 245-page court filing submitted by the agency in July hits back at public-interest attorney Cory Briggs’ “unsupported” allegation that agency board members are holding secret meetings that should be opened to the public.

OPINION: What Keeps Me Awake at Night? – Source of Water Manager Insomnia

A standard question often asked people in charge of important things (such as being responsible for the water and wastewater needs of 26,000 people as well as hundreds of businesses and farms in our service area), is “What Keeps You Awake at Night.” My answer: The literal army of state legislators and bureaucrats working hard to dream up ways to micro-manage anything and everything your water agency does, how much water you can use on a daily basis and take your money to solve other people’s problems making your monthly water bill more expensive without providing you or our community any benefit.

Call It The Anti-Drought: Water Officials Hope to Drive Up Water Usage

In a jarring contrast to conditions during the drought, the San Diego County Water Authority is actually trying to drive up demand for its water. As recently as the first months of this year, Californians were asked to conserve water. Well, they did. And they still are. Now, that’s a problem. Demand for water is low. In San Diego, it’s so low that drinking water is just sitting in the main pipeline that delivers water from hundreds of miles away to the southern half of the county. Typically demand for water is highest during the summer.

OPINION: Save Water, Save Energy, Save California

California’s lengthy drought has prompted state, regional and local officials to take a series of steps in recent years to restrict water use. One of the first measures lawmakers adopted was an urban conservation plan to ensure that future consumption in California’s cities would not outstrip a dwindling supply. Modeled on tough goals that had been passed to reduce energy use and limit the release of greenhouse gasses, the 20 x 2020 Water Conservation Plan aims for a 20% per capita reduction by 2020.