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Friday afternoon the sun peaked through the clouds above Lake Oroville and a rainbow arched over the Feather River. It was a welcome sight for state engineers who were battling the lake’s worrisome rise with torrential releases down the reservoir’s broken concrete spillway. The break in storms and a drop in the volume of water pouring into the huge reservoir gave dam operators hope that they could keep lake levels from hitting an elevation of 901 feet — the point at which uncontrolled flows would start washing down an unpaved emergency spillway that has never been used in Oroville’s 48-year history.

 

Public attendance at a Thursday evening (February 9) hearing to introduce water rates for Imperial Beach, Coronado, and southwest San Diego for the next three years was so sparse that the public was easily outnumbered by California American Water (Cal Am) and California Public Utilities Commission staff. Despite the low turnout (less than a dozen people), a battle over where to place a water-recycling plant — in Coronado or Imperial Beach — appears to be heating up behind the stiff formality of the proceedings.

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.