The controversial Poseidon Water seawater desalination plant in
Huntington Beach could be in line to receive millions in state
funds from the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee. The
committee met Wednesday, a three-hour meeting during which it
partially decided how to divide up more than $4.3 billion in
tax exempt Private Activity Bonds that are available for
distribution in 2022. Most of the money — about $3.7 billion —
will go to qualified residential rental programs…. However,
the committee also voted to allocate about $510 million to
other exempt facilities, which include Poseidon.
The City of Santa Monica, California, has taken a significant
step toward a self-reliant water future as expansions to the
Arcadia Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and restorations to the
Olympic Well Field break ground. The key water infrastructure
improvements are a component of the city’s goal of becoming
water self-sufficient by 2023. Santa Monica’s water system
comprises groundwater basins, treatment facilities, and
imported water connections to serve 18,000 customers with an
average annual water demand of approximately 11,600 acre-ft per
year (AFY). About 50 to 60 percent of its water supply is from
local groundwater resources.
US Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced the US Army Corps
of Engineers will receive $172.5 million in federal funding to
help move forward critical water infrastructure projects in
California. This funding comes from the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law and the 2022 Disaster Relief
Supplemental Appropriations Act…. Highlights of California
projects receiving funding include: $28 million to restore
and revitalize the Los Angeles River. … $35 million for
the San Joaquin River Basin to help reduce flood risk to
the city of Stockton….$1.5 million for a Salton Sea
feasibility study to facilitate the development of
long-term solutions for public health and environmental impacts
of the Salton Sea.
Several serious concerns emerged this week about the impact of
California’s planned bullet train on Hollywood Burbank Airport,
Burbank’s water supply and a massive commercial development if
construction proceeds on a proposed 13.7-mile route through the
area. Despite the issues, the California High-Speed Rail
Authority approved its route plan on Thursday. … City
water officials say the construction will temporarily take out
75% of the city’s water supply and force it to recertify its
system with state regulators afterward.
San Diego County is in the midst of moderate drought
conditions, even after experiencing its 28th-wettest December
on record, according to the National Integrated Drought
Information System (NIDIS). For farmers like Charley Wolk in
Fallbrook, last month’s rain was money to their ears. … The
avocado farmer who also owns Bejoca Grove and Landscape
Management Company says the showers helped provide
much-needed financial relief for farmers who can pay anywhere
from $4,000 to $40,000 a month for their water bills.
High in the San Bernardino Mountains, water seeps from the
ground … Near this dribbling spring, water gushes
through a system of tunnels and boreholes, and flows into a
network of stainless steel pipes that join together in a single
line… to a tank, where some is hauled away in trucks to be
bottled and sold as Arrowhead 100% Mountain Spring Water. Local
environmentalists say the bottled water pipeline doesn’t belong
in the national forest … The latest round in the fight
over bottled water in the San Bernardino Mountains is playing
out in a series of virtual hearings focusing on [Arrowhead
owner] BlueTriton Brands’ water rights claims.
Despite the heavy rains and record snowfall this past December,
the Department of Water Resources said California remains in a
drought. The next few months will be telling, especially for an
area like Big Bear, which receives its water in the form of
rain. … The ongoing drought has had many impacts on Big
Bear Valley, especially for businesses that rely on the
lake. Big Bear Marina owner, Steve Fengler, said that
during last spring and summer seasons, he had to physically
move his docks and storefront to deeper water.
The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and
Quality issued a general rain advisory Tuesday to avoid water
contact at all coastal beaches and bays due to last night’s
rainfall. The DEHQ reminded swimmers, surfers and other water
users that rain brings urban runoff, which can cause bacteria
levels to rise significantly in ocean and bay waters,
especially near storm drains, creeks, rivers and lagoon
outlets.
In a wealthy enclave along the Santa Monica Mountains that is a
haven for celebrities, residents are now facing more aggressive
consequences for wasting water. The Las Virgenes Municipal
Water District northwest of Los Angeles hopes to spur water
savings by making it easier to fine households that go over
their allotted “water budgets” and threatening to vastly limit
water flow to customers who repeatedly fail to conserve.
The More Water Now campaign was formed to qualify
the Water Infrastructure Funding Act to appear as a
state ballot initiative in November. Nearly every expert in
California agrees that more water infrastructure is necessary;
that conservation alone will not protect Californians from the
impact of climate change. Projects to capture storm runoff and
recycle urban wastewater are urgently needed, and this
initiative provides the funding to get it done. -Written by Edward Ring, lead proponent of the Water
Infrastructure Funding Act, a proposed state ballot
initiative.
Federal officials are investigating why millions of gallons of
sewage-laden water isn’t making its way from Tijuana to the
international wastewater treatment plant in the U.S. Instead,
that untreated wastewater is flowing into San Diego through a
border drain, which indicates there’s probably a broken pipe or
a clog somewhere in Tijuana. The runaway flow began Jan.
7 around 1:30 p.m. when almost a million gallons of sewage
escaped from Tijuana through Stewart’s Drain, which sits just
east of the International Wastewater Treatment plant operated
by the International Boundary Water Commission.
Perennial water shortages in California will likely only grow
worse due to climate change. But emerging technologies offer
hope—if Californians can stop taking water for granted, says
David Feldman, UCI professor of urban planning & public policy
and director of Water UCI. Water shortages will become
more severe as both droughts and floods become more intense,
with less rain and snow falling during dry seasons and more
falling during wet ones. Capturing the excess precipitation and
saving it for dry periods will also only get more challenging.
A leak in Mexico is causing tens of millions of gallons of
extra wastewater to flow into the United States, creating a
domino effect on local beaches. Imperial Beach’s coastline has
been closed since Dec. 8 with a sign that reads: “Keep out,
sewage contaminated water,” which is not an uncommon sight in
the area. However, a new issue in the last week will likely
contribute to the ongoing problem. A spokesperson for the
International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) called a
recent leak “unprecedented.” In the last week, daily flows
through Stewart’s drain have quickly grown, surpassing 40
million gallons in a five-day span, which is astronomical for
that drain.
A creek rises at my doorstep. My driveway is a spillway washed
by surf I’ve never heard. An estuary of the Pacific Ocean flows
between the basketball courts and the picnic shelter in my
neighborhood park. Where I live is seven miles from the coast,
but the sea laps its streets unseen. The Los Angeles County
Flood Control District manages the network of catch basins,
laterals, conduits and channels that puts my doorstep one step
away from the open ocean. The network is for stormwater, but it
also carries the daily runoff from more than 2,000 square miles
of watershed.
After a strong start to the water year, all of the
Bay Area and California have moved out of the exceptional
drought category, with most of the state now in the lesser
extreme or severe drought categories, according to U.S. Drought
Monitor data posted Thursday. The national Drought Monitor
uses a number of drought measurements, including precipitation,
soil moisture and streamflow, to determine which category an
area is in. Exceptional drought is the worst category —
indicating a water emergency. The next category is extreme
drought, which brings with it widespread water shortages and
restrictions.
Jason Kraling sank his fingers deep into the spongy soil on
Mount Laguna Saturday and pulled out a fistful of dead leaves,
brittle pine needles, shards of wood and rich brown
soil. “Look at how moist this is,” said Kraling, a fire
battalion chief with the U.S. Forest Service. “We’ve gotten a
reprieve from how dry things were last summer. It’s a good time
for prescribed burns.” Years of sporadic drought had left
San Diego County so parched that firefighters thought the
region would explode with wildfires as soon as the Santa Ana
winds returned in the fall.
The current drought in the West has likely had no greater
impact on other agricultural entities than on alfalfa,
according to Dan Putnam, the longtime extension forage
agronomist with the University of California in Davis. …
Regulatory curtailments of water supplies are also a major
concern. Putnam tends to take the path of evaluating the water
challenges and then looking for alfalfa opportunities. Said
another way, he’s a glass half-full individual. In 2021, about
50% of the alfalfa in the West was impacted by drought.
Irrigated alfalfa comprises almost 50% of U.S. alfalfa
production, and it’s often the highest water user in many of
the Western states.
As the world struggles for consensus on climate action and
national policy focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
the impacts of climate change occur all around us. … The
San Diego region is a case in point. Its beaches and coastal
bluffs are being eroded by ocean storms and sea level rise. Its
inland valleys and mountains suffer from severe drought,
leaving them vulnerable to wildfires. Long-term drought and
higher temperatures contribute to the loss of natural habitat
and wildlife. Its population, industry and agricultural economy
rely heavily on water from shrinking, faraway sources — the
Sacramento Delta in Northern California and the Colorado
River. -Written by Robert Leiter, former director of land use
and transportation planning for the San Diego Association of
Governments; Julie Kalansky, a climate scientist at
Scripps Institution of Oceanography; and Cary Lowe, a
California land-use attorney who has written widely on
environmental and planning topics.
“They will recolonize, if we pave the way for them,” said Damon
Goodman, former biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service’s Arcata office who is now a regional director in
Northern California for CalTrout. If this sounds similar to the
Field of Dreams famous quote: “if you build it, they will
come,” it is. And it is exactly what happened with Pacific
lamprey recolonizing in the Santa Margarita River in Southern
California. Found in the river in August 2019 for the
first time since last documented in 1940, this is now the
furthest south the species has currently recolonized, 260 miles
south of the previous location in San Luis Obispo which
recolonized in 2017.
Allison Febbo has been appointed to serve as general manager
for the Apple Valley-based Mojave Water Agency. On Dec. 1,
Febbo replaced Kathy Cortner, who transitioned to a special
projects role within the MWA until her retirement sometime
in early 2022, agency officials announced Monday. Febbo, who
has served as assistant general manager since Jan 2021, has a
23-year background in water resources, hydrology, and water
operations.
