A bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday, July 21, clears the way for two water districts to extend their systems to a neighborhood on the Wildomar-Menifee border that has been plagued by a poor quality, unreliable water supply.
From The Sacramento Bee, in a commentary by Linda S. Adams and Karen L. Hathaway:
As early as next month, the State Water Resources Control Board could take up the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board’s recommendation for the maximum level of copper particulates allowed in Marina del Rey, one of the largest man-made harbors in the world.
On the same day the state approved mandatory outdoor watering restrictions with the threat of $500 fines, the Southern California couple received a letter from their city threatening a $500 penalty for not watering their brown lawn.
Talk about mixed messages: While Gov. Jerry Brown is warning that California faces its worst drought since record-keeping began and regulators have approved fines of up to $500 for wasting water, some Southern California cities are continuing to issue warnings and citations to residents who let their lawns go brown.
From the Los Angeles Times, in a column by Patt Morrison:
Lucy Jones is the U.S. Geological Survey seismologist seconded by Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office to spend a year creating the city’s first seismic resilience plan. Her grandfather worked for William Mulholland’s DWP, and her great-great and great grandparents are buried in a cemetery on the San Andreas fault
A Superior Court judge has ordered the Castaic Lake Water Agency, Santa Clarita Valley’s water retailer, to rescind an illegal “special tax” imposed on Santa Clarita Valley water retailers, who passed that rate on to customers.
With Gov. Jerry Brown’s approval, California officials are reviving an ambitous plan to study dangerous earthquake faults and create zoning maps that could restrict development.
Southern Californians have fallen far short of achieving the 20% voluntary cut in water use sought by Gov. Jerry Brown in the face of the deep drought afflicting every corner of the state.
Developers citing new scientific evidence are pressing to end federal protections for the California gnatcatcher, whose status as a threatened species has barred development in many areas of prime Southern California coastal real estate for two decades.
Developers citing new scientific evidence are pressing to end federal protections for the California gnatcatcher, whose status as a threatened species has barred development in many areas of prime Southern California coastal real estate for two decades.
As Southern California suffers through the third year of drought, rattlesnakes are moving farther from their territory searching for food and water, many biologists report.
“At Big Bear resorts, like other Southern California ski areas, the drought took a toll. … Fortunately for the town, summer visitation has been on an upswing, helping to offset lost business in winter.”
From the California Department of Water Resources (DWR):
“The water level in Castaic Lake in northern Los Angeles County continues to fall during California’s drought and is now too low for boaters to use the lake’s west boat ramp.
“The lake provides recreational activities for Southern California and, as a key component of the State Water Project (SWP), serves as a reservoir for water that’s distributed to nearby local communities.”
“When Rosalinda Cardenas was a kid, her parents warned her often: Stay away from the Pacoima Wash. A few blocks from her home on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, the concrete-encased flood control channel was barricaded by rusty chain-link fences, broken glass and garbage.”
“The Desert Water Agency is set to vote on a budget for the next fiscal year that would increase water rates by 22 percent and fund a study on tiered rates.”
“Last year, when the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power kicked off a new program to buy electricity from local solar installations, city leaders along with environmentalists and business groups said it would be the nation’s largest urban rooftop solar program and would allow hundreds of building owners to create sun-fueled power plants on their roofs or over parking lots.”
“This harbor community [Avalon] is bracing for water rationing this summer and even more severe restrictions this fall in the face of continuing drought, dwindling groundwater and a rising demand from tourists who are flocking here in numbers not seen since 2000.”
“Ventura County sheriff’s deputies found a $201-million marijuana grow operation hidden in canyons north of Lake Piru in the Los Padres National Forest, authorities said Wednesday.”
