The Imperial Irrigation District, which could lose its authority over transmission lines across its service area, has adopted a resolution formally opposing the state’s plan to regionalize the California power grid.
The board of directors said the California Independent System Operator’s proposal to expand the power grid to six other Western states is not in the best interest of the public and should be scrapped.
California is in the midst of its worst drought in history. Across Southern California, this year’s El Nino provided no relief. Climate scientists believe that drought conditions may simply be the “new normal” for our region. How can our local communities meet their own needs and responsibilities without simply taking limited water supplies from each other?
Semi-arid and drought-prone Southern California can no longer rely on overdrawn ground water sources for more than a small fraction of local needs. Meanwhile, the region’s two main sources of imported water have become increasingly less reliable.
For much of human history, we’ve tried to move sewage – worthless, dangerous and disgusting – as far away from us as possible.
Now, sewage has become a valuable commodity. Water agencies across San Diego County are working on projects to turn sewer water into water that’s clean enough to spread on lawns or even drink.
In Coronado, a dispute has erupted over who controls sewage from the island and who can profit from it. At the heart of the tension is the Navy’s new campus on the southern end of Coronado.
Los Angeles County is considering a controversial plan to spur housing development in rural unincorporated areas by allowing property owners to haul in drinking water if no other source is available.
If adopted, the initiative would make 42,677 parcels in the northern one-third of the county potentially eligible to construct as many as 3,680 single-family homes over the next two decades, officials said.
The county Board of Supervisors has approved the final map for Paseo Village Townhomes, a condominium project just north of state Route 67 and bordered by La Brea, Day and Vermont streets.
The condo project by Ramona developer Steve Powell will consist of 31 dwelling units on 2.28 acres and include street improvements.
Also at their June 22 meeting, supervisors approved the final map to convert Boulder Ridge Villas, 1918 and 1922 Kelly Ave., to condominiums.
So, that “Godzilla” El Niño that had a “95 percent chance” of coming and was “too big to fail“? Yeah, it didn’t happen (at least not in SoCal).
What resulted, instead, was a cooling of the Pacific around the equator, which suggested that a La Niña may be approaching. This was unwelcomed news; while El Niño (usually) leads to a rainy winter season for SoCal, La Niña often means a drier winter for us. Seeing as how we never got the tons of rain that we were promised, the prospect of an La Niña was dispiriting.
Last year, faced with one of the worst droughts in California history, Gov. Jerry Brown issued a mandate to cities across the state to cut water use by 25%. And guess what – the cuts were successful. Up against a daunting challenge, Californians proved that, when asked, they could come together to meet the task at hand.
Last month, however, in response to heavy rains filling reservoirs in the northern half of the state last winter, the governor relaxed his conservation mandate. But the drought is not over by any stretch of the imagination — particularly in the Southland.
Water supplies in many parts of the state are seemingly better than they’ve been in recent memory. Major reservoirs in northern California are near capacity. The state water board lifted mandatory restrictions on urban water use. Some water agencies say they won’t be asking their customers to conserve this summer.
Obligatory restrictions may have gone by the wayside thanks to a little El Niño rainfall, but an important fact remains: California is in its fifth year of drought and, across the Central Valley, farmers and ranchers are struggling.
Provisions aimed at moving water around California remain in an appropriations bill after House Republicans on Wednesday rebuffed California Democrats’ attempts to have it removed.
The provision, sponsored by Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), focuses on funneling more water to San Joaquin Valley growers by reducing the amount used to support endangered fish populations.
The House voted 248-181 to reject an amendment by Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) and other California Democrats that would have removed the language from the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill.
One Rancho Santa Margarita church, with help from its members and a few companies, is facing the drought head on.
In an effort to conserve, Community Lutheran Church plans to save an estimated 500,000 gallons of water per year with new landscaping and water use technology. Both were unveiled in front of a small crowd last week.
With work completed on the CLC Landscape Renovation Project, which broke ground in February, onlookers gazed at new native plants and trees surrounded by wood chips and gravel paths that replaced grass.
