The overarching water myth in our part of our state is one of
massive entities — MWD, LADWP — controlled by criminally
wealthy Kings of California with unholy power straight out of a
film noir plot. Ordinary people who dare question the way that
water works need to be told, once again, “Forget it, Jake. It’s
Chinatown,” and move on to fairer fights with organizations
that aren’t so rich and gigantic that they are unassailable.
When you live in Altadena, the water with which you irrigate
your yard and brush your teeth does not come from anyone living
very large. It comes from one of three tiny,
ancient-for-California water companies that have so few
resources that when disaster strikes, there is no bucks-up
bureaucracy to bankroll a big fix. –Written by Whittier Daily News opinion columnist Larry
Wilson.
Seven months before fire swept through the Pacific Palisades
neighborhood of Los Angeles, the city’s water managers were
formulating a plan to revive an old reservoir to temporarily
boost the area’s limited water capacity. The Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power was exploring the option because
the neighborhood’s main reservoir — the Santa Ynez Reservoir —
had been taken offline as a result of a torn cover, which
officials had begun preparations to repair early in 2024. The
repair project was still months away from completion this
January when the fire broke out, and with the reservoir empty,
firefighters ran short of water in fighting the blaze. Emails
released to The New York Times under public records law show
that the city had searched for solutions to rectify the
monthslong supply shortage but, despite lengthy discussions and
preliminary preparations, failed to correct the problem in
time.
Last week, I sat down with Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Lee Zeldin for a roundtable focused on a crisis
that’s poisoned our coastlines for decades: the relentless
dumping of toxic sewage from Mexico into Southern California’s
waters. This wasn’t another meeting about more studies, more
delays, or more bureaucratic finger-pointing. It was about one
thing: action. I told Administrator Zeldin what so many San
Diegans already know: this isn’t just an environmental disaster
— it’s a national security threat. When our Navy SEALs — the
elite warriors of our military — are forced to abandon training
operations due to contaminated waters, we have crossed a line.
When our families can’t enjoy our beaches without the risk of
serious illness, something is fundamentally broken. The good
news? Your voices are being heard. –Written by Jim Desmond, member of the San Diego County
Board of Supervisors.
Carlsbad residents pay less for water than other cities around
the county, but rates are about to jump. A 20 percent increase
in July will add $25.30 to the average customer bill, with more
to come. The Carlsbad City Council voted 4-1 last week to raise
rates for water, sewer and recycled water that will bring
additional increases in Jan. 2026 and 2027, for a total of
$61.75, or 49% over the current rate. City staff explained that
the San Diego County Water Authority raised wholesale rates by
14% last July. “That means it costs us 14% more to purchase
water for Carlsbad customers,” said Shoshana Aguilar, senior
management analyst with the city’s utilities department. Sixty
five percent of the cost of water bills involves county water
purchases from sources such as the Colorado River and
desalination. The rate hikes fund the many costs of water
delivery and can’t exceed the cost of service.
Burbank residents face significant water rate increases as the
city grapples with its complete dependence on imported water
and rising costs from external suppliers. Burbank Water and
Power recently proposed water rate increases of 14% beginning
Jan. 1, 2026, and an additional 14% beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
… The utility expects to pay up to 21% more for imported
water in 2026 compared to 2024. Burbank relies on
groundwater storage since it lacks direct access to natural
water sources. However, BWP must first purchase and spread
imported water before extracting it from the groundwater basin.
To maximize its limited supply, the utility produces
approximately 4 million gallons of recycled water daily for
non-potable purposes, such as irrigating school fields and
parks and operating the Magnolia Power Plant.
Carlsbad’s residential water and sewer rates will increase 20%
on July 1 and a total of 49% over the next three years under a
plan approved Tuesday by the City Council. Several residents
opposed the rate hikes, but city staffers said they are needed
to pass along a 14% increase in the price of water purchased
from the San Diego County Water Authority and to cover
inflation and the rising costs of maintenance and capital
improvements. … The City Council approved the new rate
structure on a 4-1 vote with Councilmember Melanie Burkholder
opposed. Burkholder said the higher bills would be bad for
business, and that the city should “do more with less” and
consider deferred maintenance.
The Trump administration and Mexican officials had a positive
meeting Monday night on addressing sewage flowing into
California and are developing plans to address the decades-old
issue, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Tuesday. Zeldin,
speaking at the Marine Corps base in San Diego, said he had a
90-minute conversation with Mexican Environment Secretary
Alicia Bárcena and both sides agreed to collaborate on steps to
repair and upgrade an international sewage treatment plant that
cleanses Mexican wastewater before it enters the United States.
… Major infrastructure upgrades agreed on in 2018 and funded
through the U.S.-Mexico trade agreement negotiated by Trump
during his first term aren’t yet finished, allowing billions of
gallons of raw sewage to reach the Tijuana River Valley and
eventually the ocean.
Drought and climate change are impacting water supplies around
the world. But desalination — pulling fresh, drinkable water
from saltwater— can offer some relief. Desalination technology
has existed for a while; dry countries like Israel, Saudi
Arabia and Spain have used it for years. Most desalination
technology uses a lot of energy and leaves behind a toxic
byproduct: all the salt extracted from the water. Scientists
and entrepreneurs are working to improve its capabilities, from
moving the process offshore to running mobile desalination hubs
on solar power. One of those entrepreneurs is Robert
Bergstrom, CEO of OceanWell, based in California. The company
is testing desalination pods at a reservoir near Los Angeles.
Eventually, the pods will go into the ocean to create fresh
water.
For months, Los Angeles city officials and an outside
contractor have worked to ensure that the Santa Ynez Reservoir,
the 117-million-gallon water complex in the heart of Pacific
Palisades, could return to service by early May. Since early
2024, the reservoir had sat empty due to tears in the cover
that floats across its surface. The reservoir was empty during
the Jan. 7 Palisades fire, sparking anger from residents and
prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to call for an investigation. With
repairs complete, crews with the Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power were refilling the reservoir last week when
they discovered further tears and “pinhole sized leaks” in the
floating cover. As a result, DWP confirmed Wednesday that
the reservoir will have to be drained, again, so that crews can
fix the floating cover. DWP said they expected the repairs to
take three to four weeks, with the reservoir now estimated to
come back online by mid- to late June.
The Trump administration on Monday demanded the resignation of
the top federal official overseeing a dispute between the
United States and Mexico over untreated sewage flowing across
the border into California. Maria-Elena Giner, who leads
the International Boundary and Water Commission, said in an
interview Monday that White House officials asked her to resign
by the end of the day and threatened to fire her
otherwise. The commission plays a crucial role in
navigating cross-border water conflicts, including the
[Colorado River], ongoing sewage crisis facing coastal
California communities and dwindling water deliveries to
farmers in South Texas.
Water is essential to daily life, but few people realize the
journey it takes before reaching their taps. In Burbank. Every
drop of drinking water originates from hundreds of miles away,
making Burbank uniquely dependent on external suppliers. The
cost of importing this water continues to rise, and it is
important to understand the factors driving these costs and how
they may impact our community in the future. Unlike other
cities that can tap into local rivers or lakes, Burbank’s
drinking water is entirely purchased from the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California (MWD). This imported
water originates from two sources – water from the San
Francisco Bay Delta, which includes runoff from melting snow in
the Northern Sierra Nevada mountains, and the Colorado
River. –Written by Richard Wilson, assistant general manager,
water systems at Burbank Water and Power.
The Tijuana River has been plagued with raw sewage and
industrial waste from Tijuana for decades, fouling beaches
along the U.S.-Mexico border with polluted water and sending
foul odors drifting through communities in San Diego County. On
Wednesday, the environmental group American Rivers ranked the
Tijuana River No. 2 on its annual list of the nation’s most
endangered rivers, up from No. 9 on the list last year. The
group said it elevated the river on the list, right behind the
first-ranked Mississippi River, to bring greater attention to
the waterway’s chronic pollution problems and the lack of
action to clean it up. Activists with another group, Surfrider
Foundation, are also circulating a petition calling for
President Trump to declare a national emergency to expedite
efforts to curb the flow of untreated sewage and clean up the
river.
A gorgeous California city has been plagued with a foul
odor due to a stomach-churning problem in the Tijuana
River. The stink started after Mexico announced
it was forced to dump around five million gallons a day of
sewage into the river. Mexico is attempting to replace a
section of an ageing sewage pipeline with a newer one made of
concrete. … The US side of the (International Boundary
and Water Commission) said Mexico had informed them that the
decision to dump five million gallons of wastewater a day into
the river was a ‘difficult decision,’ but there were no other
alternatives to fixing the sewage problem. On Thursday,
the IBWC said that even though the sewage dump was ‘bad news,’
the decision was the best way to prevent wastewater from
polluting the Tijuana River long-term. The construction
project is on the Mexico side of the river and will be split
into two phases, scheduled to be completed by April 17.
Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed new legislation that will
provide more than $170 million in state funding to help prevent
wildfires while signing an order aimed at speeding up the work
by easing environmental permitting. The funding — which
the Democratic governor said was part of a broader effort to
better protect communities ahead of peak fire season — comes as
the state is under extraordinary pressure after the January
infernos that devastated Los Angeles communities…. Authorized
as part of a fast-tracked, early action budget
bill approved by the Legislature, the funds will be paid
to six conservancies throughout California. The agencies,
which operate under the governor’s Resources Agency, will
manage the removal of vegetation and thinning of forests within
their regions.
Officials are monitoring reports from the San Diego County Air
Pollution Control District of an overnight uptick in hydrogen
sulfide readings in the Tijuana River Valley, creating odor
issues in South County. The increase in odors in the last 24
hours “appears to be associated with reports from the
(International Boundary and Water Commission) that sewage
infrastructure work in Mexico has resulted in the release of up
to 5 million gallons per night of sewage into the Tijuana River
Valley,” according to the county. This flow comes in addition
to “rogue sewage flows” being investigated by the IBWC with its
partners in Mexico. The IBWC operates the South Bay
International Wastewater Treatment Plant and is tasked with
collaborating with Mexico on border water issues.
San Diego officials say Mexico is continuing to release
millions of gallons per day of raw sewage into the city’s
waters despite its promises to end the flow that has sickened
Navy SEALs and San Diego residents. “Mexico just dumped 6
million gallons of sewage into the Tijuana River — after
promising they wouldn’t,” said San Diego County Supervisor Jim
Desmond on X today (Apr. 11). “We are at the mercy of a foreign
government that continues to pollute our waters — while we get
stuck with the consequences.” Desmond also said Navy SEAL
training is often being shifted farther north in San Diego from
Coronado, where the training typically takes place, due to the
high volume of waterborne illness caused by fecal and bacterial
contamination.
In a state where drought is never far from mind, Pasadena is
taking fresh approaches to water conservation, turning
educational initiatives into community celebrations.
Pasadena Water and Power is joining utilities nationwide this
May to celebrate Water Awareness Month with a series of free
educational events, tours, and contests designed to
promote water conservation. The initiative, part of
PWP’s “The Ripple Effect” campaign, aims to raise awareness
about water sustainability and encourage community members to
become local water stewards. … A virtual Water
Town Hall is scheduled for May 7 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. via
Zoom, offering information about water sources, delivery
systems, and sustainability efforts. Residents can also
tour the Monk Hill Water Facility on May 10 from 9 a.m. to 11
a.m. to learn about the history of Monk Hill and its role in
Pasadena’s water supply, as well as water treatment, storage,
and delivery systems.
The mythology of rugged individualism often touted in the West
comes to a screeching halt where water is concerned, especially
here in Los Angeles. That’s because the city has long been
propped up by water shipped from hundreds of miles away to the
extent that today, about 85% of its drinking water is imported.
… Imported water is an addiction the city will have to kick
if it’s to weather the worsening impacts from climate change.
That’s why, since at least 2008, LA leaders have pushed the
city — but have so far failed — to massively increase the
amount of recycled wastewater it uses for drinking. Currently,
that number is around 2%. These plans took a major step forward
with the completion last December of Pure Water LA, a city plan
to massively scale-up the amount of wastewater it recycles at
the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant in Playa Del Rey. The aim
is to eventually make the city 70% reliant on local supplies.
Today, about 15% of water is derived from local supplies.
After years of struggling with poor water quality and aging
facilities, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the
completion of a new water system for the City of Needles in
eastern San Bernardino County. This system will ensure reliable
access to safe drinking water for Needles’ 5,000 residents.
Today’s announcement of the new clean water system in Needles
furthers the state’s goal to provide all Californians with
clean and safe drinking water. Since 2019, thanks to state
efforts, the number of Californians without safe drinking water
has been reduced by half, from 1.6 million to about 800,000
people.
Recently, two critical policy committees passed Senate Bills 10
and 594, authored by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). SB 10
would expressly authorize funds from the new toll road to be
used for water treatment, environmental mitigation, and
restoration of the Tijuana River Valley, and SB 594 would give
communities across the state with existing environmental
pollution burdens the opportunity to voice their concerns in a
publicly noticed hearing when a new landfill development is
proposed, as is the case in the River Valley. … SB 10
passed the Senate Transportation Committee last week by a vote
of 11 to 3, and SB 594 passed the Senate Environmental Quality
Committee today by a vote of 5 to 0. Both bills now head to the
Senate Appropriations Committee.
