Thursday’s Top of the Scroll: Congressional Delegation Expresses Support for BDCP

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 9:00 am

From the Association of California Water Agencies:

A coalition of 13 members of Congress on May 22 sent letters to Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell expressing their strong support for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and urging the state and federal government to continue to make the BDCP a “top priority.”

Read more from ACWA

 

Southern California Weighs in on Jerry Brown’s Water Plan

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:59 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

A group of Southern California lawmakers has sent a letter to Brown and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell trumpeting their “continued strong support” for the Delta plan and asking that it “remains a top priority of the Department of the Interior and the State of California.”
Contrast that with the tone of a March missive from a Northern California delegation that called the Delta plan “flawed” and “reckless” and dismissed it as a “an expensive plumbing system that doesn’t add a single drop to the state’s water supply.”

Read more from the Sacramento Bee

 

Commentary: Finding Common Ground in the Delta

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:56 am

From the California Majority Report:

“…neither plan on its own can get the job done. But together, BDCP and the Portfolio Alternative present an opportunity for immediate and long-term progress in the Delta. Conveyance improvements and habitat restoration are critically important, and should be implemented without further delay. However, the State cannot and should not proceed with their plan without linking other critical elements and right-sizing conveyance facilities to ensure efficient investment of public resources.”

Read more from the California Majority Report

 

Commentary: Making Storage Work

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:55 am

From the BDCP Blog:

 California needs a better way to capture water when it is available….The bottom line? The BDCP is about making today’s storage system work. And it is about establishing the improved conditions to set the stage for additional future storage improvements north and south of the Delta.

Read more from the BDCP Blog

 

Santa Cruz Moves Forward With Desal Eliminating Moss Landing

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:54 am

From the Monterey Weekly:

Santa Cruz is facing many of the same water problems as the Monterey Peninsula: seawater intrusion, the need for a drought-proof water supply and state-mandated cutbacks on river pumping. Officials from both regions say desalination is part of the solution. 


But judging by the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for the Santa Cruz desal proposal, the neighboring regions won’t be working together on it.


Read more from the Monterey Weekly

 

State Appeals Court Backs Marin Desalination Environmental Analysis

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:53 am

From the Marin Independent Journal:

A state appeals court has given its blessing to an environmental study of the Marin Municipal Water District’s proposed desalination project, although the district has — at least for now — shelved its desalination plans.

Read more from the Marin Independent Journal

 

Monterey: Cal Am Takes Responsibility for Some Spiked Water Bills

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:52 am

From the Monterey Herald:

California American Water says it was at fault in at least a few recent cases of high water bills, citing errors that included accounting mistakes and a mismatched water meter register.

While the company insists the overwhelming majority of “spiked” water bills were caused by costly tiered rates combined with leaks and other mistakes that customers are responsible for, Cal Am spokeswoman Catherine Bowie said it’s important to investigate each case individually.

Read more from the Monterey Herald

 

Majority Thinks Global Warming, Clean Energy Should Be Priorities

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:51 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

Global warming and clean energy should be priorities for Congress and the president, a majority of Americans said in a recent survey.

In the survey, released Tuesday by Yale and George Mason universities, 70% of American adults say global warming should be a priority for the nation’s leaders, while 87% say leaders should make it a priority to develop sources of clean energy. Those support levels have dropped by 7% and 5% respectively since fall.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times

 

Berkeley Researcher: Plate Piles Keep Levees Intact

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:50 am

From the University of California:

[UC Berkeley rresearcher] Hamed Hamedifar is designing a plate pile system, rectangular plates affixed to three-yard beams, to bolster the strength of levees in places like the California Delta.

Read more from the University of California

 

Disaster Expert Predicts Trouble for Sacramento Area

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:50 am

From Fox40:

Bob Bea’s work as a forensic engineer is erie, detective-like, sort of a dark art. His grim expertise has led him to believe where the next big disaster will take place – the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta and levee system. The reasons why: The 150-year old levee system protecting the delta from the San Francisco Bay is decrepit and leaking, and a $750 million dollar levee modernization plan back in 2010 was shelved. 

Read more from Fox 40

 

Beach Report Card Shows Improved SoCal Water Quality

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:49 am

From NBC Southern California:

Swimmers and surfers in Southern California enjoyed cleaner beach water this year, likely due to one of the driest winters on record in the region, according to Santa Monica-based Heal the Bay’s 2012-13 study released Wednesday.

Read more from NBC Southern California

 

Environmentalists Lobby To Change Proposal By Brown For Cap and Trade Funds

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:48 am

From Capital Public Radio:

Environmentalists and other groups are urging lawmakers to reject California Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposal to borrow money from the state’s cap and trade program.

Read more from Capital Public Radio

 

Water Staff Recommends Water Rate Hikes For Now, Future

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:47 am

From the Long Beach Gazette:

Bringing water to Long Beach residents is getting more expensive annually, and this year customers may have to start bearing more of that burden with a rate increase.

Long Beach Water Department officials have recommended to the Water Commission that its members vote for a 4% water rate increase for the fiscal year 2014. This initial rate hike will be one of several in a multi-year plan, should it pass the commission.

Read more from the Long Beach Gazette

 

Funding for Water Reuse and Efficiency Projects Headed to California

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:46 am

From the Association of California Water Agencies:

Four more water projects in California will get federal funding as part of a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation program that promotes water recycling and reuse opportunities in the western states and Hawaii.

Read more from ACWA

 

How Long Can Underfunded State Parks Keep It Up?

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:45 am

From KQED:

Two years ago this month, the California Department of Parks and Recreation announced a list of 70 parks it planned to close. Park lovers rallied, giving their time and money to pick up the parks the state was willing to drop off. There is no closure list now, and the state parks are under new management, but the financial crisis has not passed. Those park lovers are now wondering how long they’re going to carry the extra load

Listen to the story at from KQED

 

Riverside County Cuts Solar Fees; Others May Follow

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:43 am

From KQED:

Solar panels have sprouted up all over the sunny spots of California, but for industrial scale projects, there’s no beating desert country — if the price is right. Developers are cheering a decision by Riverside County officials on Tuesday to slash fees on new projects. Riverside could set a new standard for how local communities do business with big solar.

Listen to the story at KQED

 

County Delays Action on Napa Pipe, But a Deal is Close

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:39 am

From the Napa Register:

“[the Napa County Board of Supervisors] voted unanimously to wait two more weeks to review the project’s request for General Plan and zoning amendments, and to give more time for the service and annexation negotiations between the county and the city of Napa to play out. They’ll take up the project again at their next meeting June 4.”

Read more from the Napa Register

 

Riverside: District Sets Special Meetings

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:36 am

From the Riverside Press Enterprise:

The Rubidoux Community Services District board of directors, which cancelled its regularly scheduled May 16 meeting, will meet in special session on May 23.

Agenda items for the May 23 meeting include a request to authorize solicitation of construction bids for the Mission Boulevard water pipeline project and an annual review of district policy governing the allocation of surplus groundwater supplies.

Read more from the Riverside Press Enterprise

 

Santa Maria: Santa Maria Ahead of Curve on Water Conservation

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:35 am

From the Santa Maria Sun:

The Santa Maria City Council increased water rates by five percent for the years 2012 and 2013, and will propose the same annual five percent increase for the next few years, Santa Maria Utilities Department Director Richard Sweet said. The increases, however, aren’t because of conservation issues, but rather to keep up with changing water demands as resources become limited in the future.

Read more from the Santa Maria Sun

 

CA Water District’s Treated Wastewater Solids Offer Sustainable Fertilizer Alternative

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 23, 2013 at 8:34 am

From Water World:

The Vallecitos Water District is incorporating organic biosolid pellets, composed of treated wastewater solids, into its Sustainable Demonstration Garden located in front of its San Marcos Administrative offices, instead of using chemical fertilizers.

The pellets are rich in nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, and makes them ideal as a valuable fertilizer. They also offer a less-harmful alternative to the typical chemical fertilizer that can pollute the ocean after being washed off during rain or over-irrigation.

Read more from Water World

 

Breaking: Congressional Coalition Issues Letter Supporting BDCP Process

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 22, 2013 at 2:44 pm

From the U.S. House of Representatives:

A coalition of 13 Members of Congress sent [a ] letter to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Governor Jerry Brown expressing their strong support of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan process and urging the Department of the Interior and the State of California to continue making the BDCP a top priority.

Read the letter here

 

Wednesday’s Top of the Scroll: Study: Groundwater Depletion in U.S. Contributing to Sea Level Rise

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 22, 2013 at 9:00 am

From the Association of California Water Agencies:

Groundwater in the U.S. is being depleted at a faster rate and has become a small but contributing factor in worldwide sea level rise, according to a new study.

Read more from ACWA

 

Underground Water Levels Continue to Slide

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 22, 2013 at 8:59 am

From Reuters:

Water levels in U.S. aquifers, the vast underground storage areas tapped for agriculture, energy and human consumption, between 2000 and 2008 dropped at a rate that was almost three times as great as any time during the 20th century, U.S. officials said on Monday.
The accelerated decline in the subterranean reservoirs is due to a combination of factors, most of them linked to rising population in the U.S., according to Leonard Konikow, a research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey.

Read more from Reuters

 

USGS Cites Accelerating Rate of Depletion, Posing Problems for Irrigation, Surface Water

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 22, 2013 at 8:58 am

From Bloomberg:

Groundwater is being depleted at a rapidly accelerating pace, posing potential problems for irrigation and surface water flow, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study released May 20.

Read more from Bloomberg

 

California Heads Toward Drought

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 22, 2013 at 8:57 am

From Central Coast News:

As of mid-May, the US Drought Monitor shows parts of the Central Coast have slipped from abnormally dry to a condition of moderate or severe drought.

Local water agencies are dependent on the water levels in reservoirs.

Watch the story at Central Coast News

 

Drought Descends on Kern County

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 22, 2013 at 8:56 am

From 17News:

It’s one of the driest seasons for Kern County in the last 50 years, and experts say  it’slikely to get worse before it gets wetter. It’s a two-pronged problem with our record low rainfall and minimal water resources coming from up north. So now, farmers are having to look to expensive groundwater to quench the thirst of crops and people.

Watch the story at 17News

 

California’s Proposed Fracking Moratoriums Might Not Apply to Other Drilling in Monterey Shale

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 22, 2013 at 8:55 am

From Inside Climate News:

Activists who believe they’ve created negative buzz around the oil and gas extraction process also called “fracking” have launched a new battle: persuading the state’s Legislature to look at also restricting different drilling techniques. Green groups warn that other oil recovery methods underway are equally risky, including one they fear could rapidly balloon in use.

Because those aren’t labeled as “hydraulic fracturing,” proposed moratoriums and other restrictions might not apply.

Read more from Inside Climate News

 

Supervisors OK ‘Fracking’ Rules for Ventura County

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 22, 2013 at 8:54 am

From the Ventura County Star:

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday changed its land-use process to regulate the practice known as fracking.

Read more from the Ventura County Star

 

San Diego: Region Nearing Water Independence

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 22, 2013 at 8:52 am

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

San Diego has made strides toward water independence by securing diverse water supplies, the San Diego Grand Jury found in a report released last week.
After seven site visits to water treatment and distribution centers, and a broad review of public water documents, the Grand Jury stated that the San Diego County Water Authority is on the right track with projects including water reclamation, desalination and enhanced storage capacity.

Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune

 

California Neighborhood’s Water Contaminated

Posted by: Aquafornia on May 22, 2013 at 8:51 am

From Bloomberg:

The discovery of contaminated water in samples from a Southern California neighborhood prompted the Indio Water Authority to provide alternative supplies to more than 115 households, the Desert Sun said, citing the utility.

Read more from Bloomberg

 

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