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California water suppliers can begin warning and fining residential users for excessive water use during drought emergencies under a bill signed Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown. California’s more than 400 urban water suppliers will be tasked with creating a scheme that identifies water-guzzling water homeowners drought emergencies as well as implementing a system to hand out warnings and potential fines. Senate Bill 814 takes effect Jan. 1 and gives suppliers the authority to create new rate structures for high-volume water offenders. The law also authorizes fines of $500 per each 748 gallons used above the district’s maximum threshold.

The San Vicente Reservoir in Lakeside will reopen for fishing and recreation Sept. 22 after a little more than eight years of being closed. The reservoir, owned by the city of San Diego, shut down to visitors Sept. 2, 2008, so the county Water Authority could raise the height of the reservoir’s concrete dam to increase its water storage. The dam is now at 337 feet. The Water Authority also constructed a new marina. San Vicente Dam, built between 1941 and 1943, originally stood at 220 feet and could store up to 90,000 acre-feet of water.

The Fallbrook Public Utility District adopted its 2016-17 budget and FPUD’s new rates. One 5-0 FPUD board vote July 14 approved the final budget for the current fiscal year while a separate 5-0 vote amended FPUD’s Administrative Code to reflect the new rates. The water rates are on a calendar year basis and will take effect Jan. 1 while the fixed charges are on a fiscal year basis and took effect July 1. “They’re based upon a rigorous development of the budget and vetting by the board’s Fiscal Committee,” said FPUD general manager Brian Brady.

The Tujunga Spreading Grounds may look like a vast, barren plot of dirt. But it’s what’s beneath the dirt that matters. Earlier this week, officials brandished shiny shovels to break ground on a project there that they say will play a key role in bolstering the region’s water supply and protecting against future droughts. The spreading grounds, a 150-acre tract of porous soil in the northeast San Fernando Valley, capture stormwater that falls from the sky or runs off from nearby mountains and hills, and allows the water to filter into a vast aquifer that can be drawn down when the resource is in short supply.

Last week, Poseidon Water agreed to postpone the hearing on its proposed Huntington Beach Desalination Project and work with state regulators on a process that will ensure a rigorous review of the project. Orange County Coastkeeper says this is good news for residents and ratepayers because the review process is designed to protect the county’s valuable coastline, clean air and water and ensure proposed desalination projects serve the public interest.