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Supes to Approve Letter on Increased Water Rates

Imperial County Board of Supervisors are expected to approve a letter expressing concerns of high water rates affecting Calipatria and Niland residents on Tuesdsay.

Tuesday’s agenda includes an item to approve a letter to be submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission regarding the high cost of water services provided by Golden State Water Company, or GSWC, in the communities of Calipatria and Niland.

Olivenhain Municipal Water District Logo landscape design workshops

Olivenhain Municipal Water District Awarded Highest Honor in Governmental Accounting and Financial Reporting

Encinitas, Calif. — The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada has awarded its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to Olivenhain Municipal Water District. The award recognizes OMWD’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022. This is the 28th consecutive year that OMWD has earned this honor.

Helix Water District Logo Square officers for 2021

Helix Recognized for Excellence in Financial Reporting

La Mesa, Calif. – The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)  announced today that Helix Water District is the recipient of a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for our fiscal year 2022-23 budget document.

“This award shows the commitment by the district’s board of directors and staff to serving the public with integrity, fiscal accountability, and transparency.” Said Kathleen Hedberg, Helix Water District’s Board President. “Our budget is well organized and easy to read. We want customers to easily see what we are doing, how we are efficient, and how we keep our operating costs steady.”

Omnibus Package Opens Spigots for Water Project Earmarks

A sprawling $1.5 trillion fiscal 2022 spending deal is awash in cash for water and natural resources projects, including a number of Republican proposals to gird coastal communities against the effects of climate change.

The omnibus package is the first in years to contain congressionally directed spending, also known as earmarks. Lawmakers revived them under tight rules and only for certain parts of the federal budget.

“This is Definitely Going To Be A Painful Drought, But I Don’t Think It’s A Complete Calamity For Most Parts of the State”

Co-Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC-Davis, Jay Lund, joined Yahoo Finance Live to break down the gravity of the drought the Western U.S. is facing and why the water shortage could send food prices higher.

State Proposes to Add Funding for Water Goals

As more of California sinks into extreme drought, Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked the Legislature to appropriate billions of dollars to address critical water needs. In the “May revise”—an update to the budget proposal he initially submitted to the Legislature in January—Newsom proposes to spend nearly $3.5 billion on water supply and resilience projects, with total investment reaching $5.1 billion over multiple years. The revised budget lays out a number of water-related priorities: providing access to safe drinking water; building water-supply reliability and improving flood protection; immediate drought support; enabling improved data collection and monitoring; and restoring fish and wildlife habitat, reconnecting wildlife corridors and removing barriers to fish passage.

County Officials Applaud New Salton Sea Funding

Newly announced state funding for the Salton Sea is expected to maximize habitat outcomes and provide immediate economic relief to the community.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $5.1 billion water infrastructure, drought response and climate resilience proposal, which he announced Monday as part of his $100 billion “California Comeback Plan,” includes $220 million for the Salton Sea.

At Tuesday’s Imperial County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, District 1 Supervisor Jesus Eduardo Escobar wanted to know what is meant by providing immediate economic relief to the community and how this would occur. He also asked if the $220 million was part of the master plan and whether the funds would be used for restoration purposes.

Here’s What’s in Biden’s Infrastructure Proposal

Now that his massive coronavirus relief package is law, President Joe Biden is laying out his next big proposal: A roughly $2 trillion plan for improving the nation’s infrastructure and shifting to greener energy over the next 8 years. He is set to unveil the effort, dubbed the American Jobs Plan, on Wednesday at an event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — the opening move in what’s expected to be a months-long negotiation with Congress.

California Agencies Will Reap Windfall from Biden Infrastructure Plan — If It Gets Traction

A Biden initiative expected to pour up to $3 trillion into repairing America’s decrepit infrastructure and funding other programs has sparked a scramble across the nation for the federal funds — with California expecting to reap the biggest piece.

The potential federal bounty opens the door to a list of ambitious projects: electrifying the Burbank-to-Anaheim passenger rail system, straightening the Los Angeles-to-San Diego rail line to cut travel time, and building a 1.3-mile tunnel to extend a passenger line to downtown San Francisco.

Ramona Water District Digs Into Roads for Pipe Repairs After County Has Paved Them

A labyrinth of aging water pipes is putting the Ramona Municipal Water District on the hook for the costs of repairing water leaks and conducting emergency repairs on water mains, which are among the district’s primary responsibilities, but also for costs related to repaving roads after the pipe work is completed.