The growing leadership of women in water. The Colorado River’s persistent drought and efforts to sign off on a plan to avert worse shortfalls of water from the river. And in California’s Central Valley, promising solutions to vexing water resource challenges.
These were among the topics that Western Water news explored in 2018.
We’re already planning a full slate of stories for 2019. You can sign up here to be alerted when new stories are published. In the meantime, take a look at what we dove into in 2018:
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.
Healdsburg Mayor Jim Wood is a dentist who believes in the
effectiveness of fluoridated water in combating tooth decay. But
he won’t be writing the argument against a November ballot
measure to remove fluoride from the city’s water.
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.
From the San Jose Mercury News, in a commentary by Richard
Santos:
In the midst of exceptional drought conditions, a new, locally
controlled, drought-proof water source for Silicon Valley could
not have come at a better time. The Santa Clara Valley Water
District, in partnership with the cities of San Jose and Santa
Clara, is celebrating the completion of the Silicon Valley
Advanced Water Purification Center.
From the San Francisco Chronicle, in a commentary by Jerry
Cadagan and Mondy Lariz:
San Francisco taxpayers and water ratepayers once again have been
fleeced of millions of dollars as a result of mismanagement at
the city’s once highly regarded Lake Merced.
A proposal that federal officials said was intended to simplify
federal water laws has instead been interpreted to do the
opposite – and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is
scrambling to defend itself to agriculture and other industries.
A small water agency that pumps water from Clear Lake expects to
declare a water shortage emergency as early as this week, not
because it’s running out of water but because thick algae growth
is putting a strain on its purification system.
The Marin Municipal Water District has released its 2014 annual
water quality report, which shows the agency’s water surpasses
all state and federal health regulations.
From The Sacramento Bee, in a commentary by Patricia
Megason:
While 2013 was a year of record drought and wildfires in
California, with the Rim fire burning more than 250,000 acres
alone, 2014 is well on its way to become another record-setting
year.
From the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA):
Cindy Forbes, a veteran of the California Department of Public
Health’s former Drinking Water Program, was named July 1 as the
new Deputy Director of the State Water Resource Control Board’s
(State Water Board), Division of Drinking Water.
Five hundred million dollars in road and water-quality
improvements are underway on the California side of Lake Tahoe.
… The new roads are designed to collect storm water and
filter out pollution in 30-by-60-foot sand pits.
Stanislaus County officials said additional water testing is
being conducted at Woodward Reservoir following reports that
visitors became sick after swimming at the park north of Oakdale.
Water flows into the American River were increased Tuesday,
despite the ongoing drought, because state and federal officials
are fighting to keep salinity from San Francisco Bay from
intruding into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Opponents of fluoridated water opened a new front in their
campaign Monday, urging the Healdsburg City Council to put
warning labels in utility bills advising residents not to mix
city water with baby formula for infants under 6 months old.
The Clean Water Act, which has been on the books since 1972, has
slowed the degradation of the nation’s lakes, rivers and streams
by blocking polluters from using waterways as sewers.
From The Sacramento Bee, in a commentary by Dan Chu:
The wildlife, clean water and scenery offered by our national
forests are crucial to our way of life and our
multibillion-dollar outdoor recreation economy – especially in
California.
From The Fresno Bee Earth Log blog by Mark Grossi:
“Gov. Jerry Brown’s new budget, which cleared the Legislature,
moves the state’s Drinking Water Program from Public Health to
the State Water Resources Control Board. The move will be made
July 1, state leaders said.”
