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As a Hotter, Drier Climate Grips the Colorado River, Water Risks Grow Across the Southwest

/in , , /by /The Arizona Republic by Ian James

The water level of Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir, has dropped more than 130 feet since the beginning of 2000, when the lake’s surface lapped at the spillway gates on Hoover Dam.

Twenty-one years later, with the Colorado River consistently yielding less water as the climate has grown warmer and drier, the reservoir near Las Vegas sits at just 39% of capacity. And it’s approaching the threshold of a shortage for the first time since it was filled in the 1930s.

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Newsom Launches Effort to Deal with Drought; Emergencies Declared in Two Counties

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a drought emergency in two Northern California counties as he stood on the dry shoreline of Lake Mendocino. The declaration gives state regulators expanded powers to curtail diversions in the parched Russian River watershed and relax river flow standards that would require more releases from the region’s shrinking reservoirs. Newsom has been under pressure from some quarters to declare a statewide drought emergency. But the administration favors a more targeted approach.

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Three States, One River and Too Many Straws

/in , , /by /Western FarmPress by Todd Fitchette

As drought deepens across the West, California’s decision to limit State Water Project (SWP) deliveries to 5% forced Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to increase pumping from the Colorado River near Lake Havasu. The good news: there’s water behind Hoover Dam for them to use. The bad news: As MWD draws on what they call “intentionally created surplus” under a previous agreement, Lake Mead will fall below the threshold for Tier 1 restrictions, leading to a curtailment of water deliveries to Arizona farmers.

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Rainbow MWD Places $1.3M in Reserves

/in , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority was successful in its rate lawsuit against the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and the SDCWA provided a check to the Rainbow Municipal Water District for Rainbow’s share of the settlement. On March 23, the Rainbow board voted 5-0 to place the money into the district’s reserves rather than to attempt to provide refunds to each individual ratepayer.

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OMWD to Use $2 Million Water Wholesaler Refund to Reduce Future Costs to Customers

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Encinitas, Calif. — Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors unanimously voted at its April 14 meeting to utilize a $2 million refund to reduce future rate increases to OMWD ratepayers. The refund resulted from San Diego County Water Authority’s decade-long litigation with Metropolitan Water District of Southern California seeking legal rates and repayment of overcharges.

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Southern California Water Giant Wants Sacramento Valley Water — and has $44 Million to Spend

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

With California in the throes of a second year of drought conditions, the mega-water agency of Southern California served notice Tuesday that it’s prepared to spend up to $44 million to buy water from Northern California to shore up its supplies.

The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves 19 million urban residents, authorized its staff to begin negotiating deals with water agencies north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where supplies are generally more plentiful.

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Helix Water District to Use Legal Settlement to Reduce Future Rates

/in , /by /East County Magazine Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Helix Water District will use $2.8 million received from the San Diego County Water Authority as part of a legal settlement with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to reduce future water rates for the district’s customers.

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Padre Dam Board Votes to Return Money to Customers Through Rates

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March 17, 2021, Santee, Calif. – Padre Dam Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors unanimously approved using the recently received $1,157,552 rebate from the San Diego County Water Authority to offset the District’s next pass‐through rate increase from the San Diego County Water Authority. This action will result in a direct benefit to customers by the reduction or potential elimination of a water pass through increase in 2022.

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Escondido to Get $1.75 M Rebate

/in , , /by /Escondido Times-Advocate Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The city of Escondido is being sent a rebate of $1,754,023 by the San Diego County Water Authority, of which Escondido is a member agency. The Rincon Del Diablo Municipal Water District, which also serves parts of Escondido, was sent a rebate of $630,781. This week the Water Authority’s Board of Directors voted to distribute a rebate of $44.4 million to its 24 member agencies across the region after receiving a check for that amount from the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to pay legal damages and interest.

Editorial: Sexual Misconduct at the Metropolitan Water District Hints at Deeper Problems

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby The Times Editorial Board Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

What does sexual harassment have to do with our water supply? Far more than you might think.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California imports, stores and sells the drinking water used by nearly half of the people in this state. As a consequence, the MWD is at the center of the state’s battle with ongoing drought, the agricultural sector’s demands for irrigation water and the degrading natural environment’s inability to sustain iconic species such as migrating salmon.

On top of those challenges, the organization is in the midst of a rare leadership change, as a search to replace departing General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger moves closer to a conclusion and as the MWD approaches its second century.

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