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San Diego’s Efforts To Divest From Rival L.A. Water Agency Have Driven Up Rates For Residents. Is It Worth It?

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

If the most powerful water officials in San Diego get their way, the county will ratchet down to a trickle one of its cheapest sources of water in the next two decades. Local officials say ongoing efforts to secure alternatives to the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California — known as the Met — have safeguarded businesses and residents against crippling cuts triggered during prolonged drought. However, the strategy of the San Diego County Water Authority to move away from Southern California’s largest wholesaler has come with a cost.

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Reclamation Commissioner To Arizona: Get A Water Deal Done This Year

/in , /by /Cronkite News Arizona PBSby Bret Jaspers

After a detailed – and dire – technical presentation from one of her experts, the commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Thursday told an audience of water stakeholders that officials weren’t trying to scare people, only make plain the risks of historically low levels on Lake Mead. Commissioner Brenda Burman and other federal officials urged, cajoled and pushed Arizona to finalize a so-called Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan. The plan identifies earlier, steeper cuts to water users than those mandated by a 2007 agreement to decrease the risk of a rapid decline in lake level.

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Arizona Commits To Drought Plan For Colorado River

/in , /by /The Associated Press by Felicia Fonseca

Arizona water officials committed Thursday to reach a multi-state plan by the end of the year to stave off Colorado River water shortages, or at least lessen the impact. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has been prodding Western states to wrap up drought contingency plans, one each in the lower and upper basins. Little snowpack, rising temperatures and ongoing drought have led to steady declines in the river that serves 40 million people in seven U.S. states.

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Water Day Zero Coming To A City Near You

/in , /by /Forbesby Paul Laudicina

The citizens of Cape Town, South Africa are breathing a sigh of relief. “Day Zero,” when water taps for citizens and businesses shut off, had been projected to arrive in April. Restrictions on personal and agricultural water use have bought the city a reprieve. Yet a delay is not a solution. The city’s 4 million people, already constrained to 90-second showers and a meager 13 gallons of water a day, will eventually face a day of reckoning when the taps run dry.

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House Backs $3 Billion Bill To Boost Ports, Dams, Harbors

/in , /by /Associated Pressby Matthew Daly

The House on Wednesday night approved a nearly $3 billion bill to improve the nation’s ports, dams and harbors, protect against floods, restore shorelines and support other water-related projects. The Water Resources Development Act would authorize a host of projects nationwide, including nearly $1 billion for a massive project to stem coastal erosion in Galveston, Texas, and restore wetlands and marshes damaged by Hurricane Harvey.

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California State Officials Voice Concerns Over A Federal Plant To Raise The Shasta Dam

/in , /by /Pacific Standard Magazine (Santa Barbara)by Alastair Bland

In a March of 2018 letter, John Laird, the secretary for the California Natural Resources Agency, asked members of Congress to “not pursue the Shasta Dam enlargement project,” primarily because heightening the dam would violate the McCloud’s Wild and Scenic protections. But the feds don’t seem to be listening. “Congress hasn’t yet given permission [to the Bureau of Reclamation] to waive the state law, but they did give them 20 million bucks,” said Ron Stork, senior policy advocate with the Sacramento-based group Friends of the River.

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An Erratic Water Supply Strains ‘Old Country’ Crops, Friendships Cultivated Over Decades On A Patch Of Soil In San Pedro

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Joe Mozingo

The old Italian men pass their mornings near the top of the hill, tending thick grapevines and rows of fava beans, smoking crumbling Toscano cigars, staying out of the house. If you try to call Francesco “Frank” Mitrano at home, his wife will brusquely tell you that he’s at “the farm.” The farm is a patch of soil by the 110 Freeway, where he harvests enough tomatoes from his crop to make spaghetti sauce for his family’s weekly Sunday dinner. “Twenty-one people,” he exclaims.

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Desal Project Touts No ‘Significant’ Impacts

/in , /by /Laguna Beach Independentby Allison Jarrell

Plans for an ocean desalination plant in Dana Point are moving forward with the recent release of a draft Environmental Impact Report and an upcoming public meeting to review the report’s findings, which state that if built, the project will not have any “unavoidable significant environmental impacts.” South Coast Water District, which provides water to several south-county cities and some Laguna Beach residents, released the draft report for the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project on May 23, which begins a 60-day public review period. The analysis evaluates the possible environmental impacts of producing desalinated drinking water.

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OPINION: Finding The Right Water Fixes For Orange County

/in , /by /The Orange County Registerby Paul A. Cook

A recent column in these pages accurately described how climate fluctuations every few years can affect water supply in Southern California. And yes, supply variations must be addressed by water resource agencies. A solution being considered by the Orange County Water District, purchasing desalinated seawater from Poseidon Resources, would create a continuous supply of new water — even in the years when we don’t need it. Since we know that the problem is the variability of our water supply, why commit to a $1 billion alternative that does not address the problem of water supply variability?

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Ventura Considers Its Water Supply And What To Do With Problematic Property Owners

/in , /by /Ventura County Starby Arlene Martinez

Reflecting the city’s limited water supply, coupled with the ongoing drought, Ventura should continue to stay in a Stage 3 Water Shortage Event. That’s the recommendation Ventura Water General Manager Kevin Brown will make to the City Council on Monday night. If they approve it, elected officials will be confirming that the city’s water supply remains well below what used to be considered normal or typical conditions. Ventura has been in Stage 3 since September 2014, when the council called for a mandatory 20 percent reduction in water use.

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