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.”
