The Water Authority is Resurrecting its Pipe Dream – Again
After almost 80 years of suckling the proverbial teat that brings fresh water from the Colorado River and Sierra Nevadas to San Diego, the local water manager is hatching a plan to unlatch.
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Delta on the Edge
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis AlexanderIn spring and summer, when the skies are warm and the shadows thin, California’s snowy Sierra Nevada and southern Cascades unleash billions of gallons of fresh water each day, a melted bounty that nourishes the state’s mightiest rivers before converging slowly on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
Toxics Agency Overhaul Ordered by California Legislature
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Bloomberg Lawby Emily C. DooleyCalifornia’s beleaguered toxics oversight agency could at last get an overhaul under a bill heading to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In the final hours of the 2-year legislative session the Senate and Assembly on Monday approved AB 995, which would create an oversight board for the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, among other actions.
Other bills did not make it to final votes and died. They include:
- AB 326 would have allowed for month-to-month memberships, rather than longer-term leases or purchase, of electric vehicles to expand access to clean cars.
- AB 3074 would have required buildings in certain hazard areas have a five-foot zone around structures that are ember-resistant and that intense fuel reduction methods be applied between five and 30 feet around a building. This bill passed but was contingent on the passage of a wildfire resilience bill, SB 1348, which died.
- SB 668 would have expanded the number of water suppliers that must have emergency preparedness plans and update them every five years.
PFAS Liability: “Sovereign Immunity” Means Companies May Foot the Bill
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The National Law Reviewby John GardellaEnvironmental watch groups, legislators, the media, and litigators have all squarely focused on PFAS contamination in one primary source – water. More specifically, drinking water. Environmental groups test local water supplies and report PFAS counts, politicians introduce bills at the state and federal levels to regulate the amount of PFAS permitted in drinking water, the media gives citizens daily news updates on PFAS in drinking water, and lawsuits are increasingly filed for both personal injury and remediation costs.
Nevada Residents Blast Utah’s Lake Powell Pipeline Plan
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /AP NewsA group of residents in a southern Nevada town that sits along the Colorado River are organizing a campaign to oppose a proposed pipeline that would divert billions of gallons of river water to southwest Utah, reflecting intensifying struggles over water in the U.S. West.
CA Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot on the Governor’s Water Resilience Portfolio
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Planning Reportby Wade CrowfootWater is central to nearly everything we value in California. Healthy communities, economies, farms, ecosystems and cultural traditions depend on steady supplies of safe water. Those values are increasingly at risk as California confronts more extreme droughts and floods, rising temperatures, overdrafted groundwater basins, aging infrastructure and other challenges magnified by climate change.
Solana Beach Resolution Declares Climate Emergency, Need for More Action
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Del Mar Timesby Luke HaroldIn response to the adverse impacts of heatwaves, wildfires, sea level rise and other issues stemming from climate change, the Solana Beach City Council approved a resolution declaring a climate emergency and calling for accelerated action to address the crisis.
“Solana Beach would directly experience these impacts that include warming temperatures, increased wildfires, sea level rise and variable water supply,” Rimga Viskanta, a senior management analyst for the city of Solana Beach, said during the council’s Aug. 26 meeting.
LAFCO Detachment Committee Discusses CEQA, Conditions, Consultants
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman Quoted: San Diego County Water AuthorityThe items discussed at the Aug. 3 meeting of the advisory committee on the Fallbrook/Rainbow detachment created by San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission included whether the reorganization was subject to California Environmental Quality Act review, whether LAFCO can place conditions on the detachment, and the use of consultants to address issues on which parties differ.
New Report Offers Grim Details on Underinvestment in U.S. Water Infrastructure
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Water Finance & ManagementAccording to the new report released this week by the American Society of Civil Engineers and Value of Water Campaign, the United States is underinvesting in its drinking water and wastewater systems, putting American households and the economy at risk. The report, “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure: How a Failure to Act Would Affect the U.S. Economy Recovery,” finds that as water infrastructure deteriorates and service disruptions increase, annual costs to American households due to water and wastewater failures will be seven times higher in 20 years than they are today — from $2 billion in 2019 to $14 billion by 2039.
Pure Water Monterey Supply Set for Extraction, Use on Peninsula
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Monterey Heraldby Jim JohnsonPure Water Monterey is finally poised to make water available for the Monterey Peninsula, providing a new water supply source for the area while allowing a reduction in Carmel River water usage albeit at a considerably reduced rate to start than was expected.
Last weekend, Monterey One Water announced that it had completed a 1,000-acre-foot recycled water reserve in the Seaside basin and that California American Water could start extracting additional water from the basin equivalent to the amount of recycled water being pumped into the basin beyond the reserve.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
