The Governor’s proposal for how to spend California’s $15 billion surplus includes $60 million in direct grants to help replenish groundwater in the valley’s most depleted basins.
The measure specifies the money is to be used in “critically over-drafted basins,” which lie mostly in the San Joaquin Valley.
On Thursday afternoon, the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s Authority Board of Directors hosted a meeting over Zoom, and as part of the agenda the ETGSA approved a contribution to Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley to identify water supplies in the amount of $22,000.
WBSJV has been working to identify the water supplies that might be available to achieve water sustainability in the San Joaquin Valley, including the Tule Subbasin. The ETGSA represents irrigation districts and farmers in southern Tulare County and is part of the Tule Subbasin.
The $227 billion budget proposed on Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom includes $4.1 billion in spending on a suite of environmental initiatives meant to fight climate change, gird California against devastating wildfires, reduce smog, and bolster the adoption of clean vehicles on the state’s roads.
Tom Kennedy, general manager of Rainbow Municipal Water District, is not related to the principal with the Kennedy/Jenks consulting firm which has a contract with the district for the design of lift station projects. The contract had been for $1,434,485 and was scheduled to expire Dec. 31, but a 5-0 Rainbow board vote, Dec. 8, approved a change order increasing the contract to $1,674,108 while extending the contract until July 30, 2021.
The Eastern Municipal Water District will receive $25 million in federal funds over the next several years to expand its desalination program, increasing fresh water stocks and reducing dependence on water imports, the agency announced Tuesday. The Perris-based EMWD was selected to receive the additional funding under the recently approved federal Water Resources Development Act, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be responsible for distributing the funds.
The city of Ventura has refinanced most of Ventura Water’s $104 million debt, resulting in nearly $16 million in savings that are expected to lower planned rate hikes for customers, city officials said.
Refinanced was $97.4 million of the debt total, said Michael Coon, the city’s finance and technology director.
The rate on the refinanced debt was lowered from 4.8% to 2.47%, resulting in the $15.95 million savings, he said.
San Diego Gas & Electric will utilize 600 additional radios as part of the Regional Communications System.
A 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote December 8 authorized the execution of an agreement to add the radios for SDG&E, which will pay the county an estimated $5,086,620 for the additional participation, and authorized the county Sheriff to execute amendments, extensions, or revisions which do not materially impact the program or funding level.
On the Arizona-California border, where the Colorado River pushes against Headgate Rock Dam, churning water pours into a wide canal and runs across the desert, flowing toward the farmlands of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.
This tribal nation is the largest single user of Colorado River water in Arizona, with rights to divert about 662,000 acre-feet per year, more than double the amount of water diverted for the state of Nevada.
As it enters its 20th year of planning and preparation, a desalination plant proposed near Doheny State Beach continues to be met with delays and uncertainty.
In mid-2018, officials were predicting that the operation could be turning ocean water into drinking water as soon as 2021. Now, the project will be doing well to simply win all required permits by the end of next year.
The final feasibility report for the long-awaited Sites Reservoir water storage project was sent Tuesday to Congress by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
The Sites Reservoir Project is a joint investigation between the Bureau of Reclamation and Sites Project Authority, authorized by Congress in 2003.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
