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Construction work began Sept. 8 on a water treatment plant here that will use chloramine, instead of chlorine, to disinfect drinking water. City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson said the change to chloramine — which is being made to meet federal regulations — will “ensure that residents of Green Meadows and Watts have access to the highest quality water.” Harris-Dawson took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the $19.1 million chloramine facility — to be built at the 99th Street Water Treatment Plant in the 9800 block of Wadsworth Avenue — that will serve about 20,000 households, businesses and multi-family complexes.

Sea level rise and its possible impact on the city of Coronado was the major topic discussed at the City Council meeting of Sept. 6, 2016. During a prior council meeting, City Councilmember Bill Sandke requested a staff report regarding what steps the city is taking to address sea level rise. The topic grew in importance to Sandke during a recent family trip to Amsterdam, where the Dutch have been defending their country against the incursion of water through a variety of means, including a lock and levy system, for five centuries.

 

 

State regulators want to leave more water for fish and wildlife in the heavily tapped tributaries of the San Joaquin River, setting the stage for another bruising California water fight. The proposal to keep more water flowing in the Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers could spread the pain caused by environmentally related water cuts to irrigation districts and cities that have largely escaped them, thanks to their location and seniority in the hierarchy by which the state allocates water rights.

A small school district in Warner Springs is still struggling with arsenic levels in its water that are above state limits, according to a new report. The Warner Unified School District is one of 95 water systems in California with arsenic levels that exceed the state threshold, the report by the Environmental Integrity Project found. The district, which serves about 210 students in the rural community in eastern San Diego County, had arsenic levels at 11.4 parts per billion, leaving it slightly above the state limit of 10 parts per billion, the report said.

Wealthy Stockton farmer Dean Cortopassi thinks politicians regularly pile up debt that the public would object to if it had the chance. This led him to fund a signature-gathering campaign that placed Proposition 53 on the Nov. 8 ballot. The measure mandates that voters must approve revenue bonds for public works projects if they exceed $2 billion and if the projects are funded, managed or owned by the state government or by a joint agency formed with the state. Revenue bonds are paid off by ratepayers and project users. General obligation bonds, paid out of government general funds, aren’t covered.