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California may be getting near-record rain and snow, but the state Water Resources Control Board isn’t ready to call an end to the drought. The board on Wednesday extended its existing water conservation regulations, which prohibit wasteful practices such as watering lawns right after rain, until the next meeting in May. “We are beyond happy that water conditions continue to improve this year, but the rainy season isn’t over yet and some areas of the state continue to suffer significant drought impacts,” said Chair Felicia Marcus.

Yesterday our ranch got this water bill from Yuima.   The charge last month for the MET/SDCWA FIXED FEE was $297.41.  This month it is $3400.82 and Yuima tells me that we will pay that every month.  They also said it is a complete pass through to those two entities. Our ranch is struggling and we have lost a considerable amount of money the last two year.  Our well levels have decreased and our usage of Yuima water has greatly increased.  This month and last month were small but we have paid as much as $59K for one month.

Gov. Jerry Brown wants to build two 35-mile underground tunnels to keep water coming south through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta. The San Diego County Water Authority used to pine for such a plan. But now, emboldened by its drought-proofing projects and wary of shocking ratepayers, the agency is aggressively questioned Brown’s delta tunnels. For over 50 years, the San Diego County Water Authority championed projects that bring water to Southern California from Northern California. But no more.

The discovery in drinking water of lead, copper and bacterial contamination due to aging plumbing at La Mirada Elementary School in the San Ysidro School District should be a wake-up call for all local — and state — districts with older schools. San Ysidro officials are so worried about the possibility of water contamination at two other campuses with older buildings, Smythe Elementary School and San Ysidro Middle School, that they are distributing bottled water at all three schools until it’s clear that water from their fixtures is safe to drink.

Despite blankets of snow and rain that have covered California this winter, the state’s top water cops voted Wednesday to maintain emergency drought rules that have been in place in one form or another during the past 19 months. Regional water managers, including those in San Diego County, traveled to Sacramento to plead with the State Water Resources Control Board to end the emergency regulations. They repeatedly told the board that not doing so would erode credibility with residents and make it harder to convince people to adopt strict conservation efforts in the future.