A collection of top water news from around California and the West compiled each weekday by veteran journalist Matt Weiser.
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Please Note: The headlines below are the original headlines used in the publication cited at the time they are posted here, and do not reflect the stance of the Water Education Foundation, an impartial nonprofit that remains neutral.
Aquafornia is off Monday (Jan. 20), the federal holiday honoring
civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. We will return
with a full slate of water news on Tuesday.
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California’s vulnerability to climate change — from deadly
fires to sea level rise — has been well documented. But the
Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal adviser says the state, with
rare exceptions, has only just begun to assess the risk climate
change poses to roads, dams, parks and schools.
The Orange County Water District, which serves 2.5 million
county residents, expects to see nearly a third of its 200
groundwater wells shut down by year’s end because of the
presence of toxic PFAS, a chemical family linked to cancer,
liver and kidney damage, low birth weight and other health
problems.
Innovative efforts to accelerate restoration of headwater
forests and to improve a river for the benefit of both farmers
and fish. Hard-earned lessons for water agencies from a string
of devastating California wildfires. Efforts to drought-proof a
chronically water-short region of California. And a broad
debate surrounding how best to address persistent challenges
facing the Colorado River. These were among the issues Western
Water explored in 2019, and are still worth taking a look at in
case you missed them
A bacteria that can cause deadly infections has become an
ongoing problem requiring permanent staffing at California’s
newest state prison, according to state budget documents.
California Health Care Facility, a Stockton prison that houses
some of the state’s sickest inmates, wants to hire 15 permanent
positions and spend about $4.4 million per year to fight the
bacteria, known as legionella…
To ensure a steady water supply if and when the Klamath Dams
are removed, Klamath River Renewal Corporation is paying to
replace a $4 million water line for the City of Yreka. The
city’s water comes from Fall Creek, located approximately 23
miles north, near the Oregon border, which is pumped at one
point on its journey through a 24-inch pipe that runs along the
bottom of Iron Gate Reservoir.
Fewer than 90 coho have made their way up meandering, forested
Lagunitas Creek and laid eggs on the northwest side of Mount
Tamalpais, one of California’s last great strongholds for
embattled wild salmon that have never mingled with
hatchery-bred fish.
A proposed $160 million tax assessment for dam repairs and
deferred maintenance at two Monterey County-owned reservoirs is
moving ahead, with a pair of public workshops planned in the
next several weeks and a vote tentatively set to start in late
March if the Board of Supervisors ultimately gives the
go-ahead, according to a county water official.
To develop critical baseline data and inform solutions, the San
Francisco Estuary Institute and the 5 Gyres Institute completed
a three-year $1 million comprehensive regional study of
microplastic pollution of the San Francisco Bay. At the 2019
State of the Estuary conference, Dr. Diana Lin from the San
Francisco Estuary Institute gave a presentation on the study
results.
When Valley Water announces new wholesale water rates this
spring, the new rate structure will include new fees for
non-water-district wells. This could boost water rates in July
for municipal system customers in Morgan Hill and Gilroy, and
for hundreds of mostly residences with private wells.
Inside the dome on top of the Penitencia Water Treatment plant
in San Jose is the first permanent x-band weather radar system
in the Bay Area. “The radar system that you see up there is
collecting crucial data as we speak,” said Norma Camacho, CEO
of Valley Water.“ Camacho joined the San Francisco P.U.C.,
Sonoma Water and other partners in unveiling the new system,
which will improve weather forecasting across the region.
The California Water Resources Control Board cited the city of
Poway this week with three violations after storm water
contaminated already treated water, leaving the entire town
without water for a week in December.
The project re-established an historic side channel through
Anderson River Park providing year-round flow through the
channel for juvenile salmon rearing habitat. The Yurok Tribe
served as construction contractor, excavating one-half mile of
side channel. Total new habitat established is a nearly
one-mile long side channel flowing year-round.
As Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration attempt to
establish a comprehensive and cohesive water policy for the
state, officials are seeking public input on the draft water
resilience portfolio released earlier this month. The document
was issued in response to Newsom’s April 2019 executive order
directing his administration to inventory and assess a wide
range of water-related challenges and solutions.
On Jan. 11 homeowners, administrators and local officials broke
ground on the sewer project for the Larkfield neighborhoods,
which had been leveled by the 2017 fires. The project has been
a source of conversation and negotiation, as the homes had
previously been on individual septic systems.
The Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, located just south of
LAX, purifies water and injects it into the ground to act as a
barrier between seawater and fresh groundwater. … But the
idea is to one day recycle wastewater into drinking water and
put it right back into the system. The industry is moving
cautiously, though, given what you might call a considerable
“ick” factor for the public.
In order to provide ongoing funding for Sebastopol’s water and
sewer system, the Sebastopol City Council unanimously approved
an increase to water and sewer rates at its Jan. 7 meeting. …
The average ratepayer’s bill is expected to increase by $3 or
$4 per month, according to Mayor Patrick Slayter.
An explosion rocked a portion of a Corona wastewater treatment
facility Friday but no injuries or chemical releases were
reported, city officials said in a news release. The cause of
the explosion is under investigation by the Corona Fire
Department and the Department of Water and Power.
Praising progress on a long-awaited Pajaro River flood
prevention project, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors
reviewed a proposed regional flood prevention agency that would
oversee construction and operation of the $393.7 million
initiative. By a unanimous vote, the county board directed
staff to finalize a joint powers agreement at the center of the
proposed Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency.
Even though water districts and cities throughout the San
Bernardino Valley rely on local rainfall and mountain runoff
for about 70 percent of their water supply, local supplies are
not enough. The region relies on Sierra snowmelt from Northern
California to meet the remaining 30 percent.
