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August 29, 2003
Quote Of
The Day
"Imagination is more important than
knowledge."
Albert Einstein
Today is the birthday of Elliott Gould, Robin Leach, and Rebecca
DeMornay. On this day in 1886, in New York City, Chinese
Ambassador Li Hung-Chang's chef invented chop suey.
We have three new job
postings below today and the latest California
Infrastructure Brief too, Happy Labor Day! Enjoy!
Today's
News
Water Supply News
- Aerojet cuts water deal with
Sacramento
County
(Sacramento Business Journal, 08/28)
"Aerojet-General
Corp. and the Boeing Co. have agreed to give Sacramento County most
of the groundwater they extract and treat for contamination in
Rancho Cordova, the county said in a press release Thursday."
Delivery not included.
- S.D. County
Water Authority advocates federal funding for
desalination
(SDCWA News Release, 08/28) "The
San Diego County Water Authority's plans to develop a seawater
desalination facility continue to move forward as a result of recent
legislative advocacy and action. The Water Authority board of
directors today adopted positions of support on two US House of
Representatives bills that would provide federal funding for the
development of seawater desalination projects. The board also heard
a report on efforts in Washington, D.C., to secure nationwide
funding for seawater desalination projects and specifically for the
Water Authority's proposed seawater desalination facility in
Carlsbad.
" The folks in Santa Barbara were just a little ahead of their
time...
- Plan to
improve Hollister water emerges
(Hollister Free Lance, 08/28) "Area
experts know the issues with water in Hollister: Its too salty
and the supply is too low. But now, with the help of what officials
call their 'toolbox,' they plan to fix it." You call it
"toolbox," everyone else calls it "money."
- Desalination
permits studied
(LA Times, 08/28)
"The
Planning Commission began discussing the two remaining permits
necessary to approve the proposed seawater desalination plant, but
with two members absent, opted to push back a vote on the project."
- Nevada
offers money to end water impasse
(SD Union Tribune, 08/28)
"Nevada
has quietly stepped in with a surprise offer of $82 million to help
California seal an elusive landmark deal to share the Colorado River
and bring a vast new supply of water to the San Diego region."
I hear they put $41 million on Red and it just worked out.
- No
repeat of water transfer ban in
Monterey
(Monterey Herald, 08/29) "The
Monterey Peninsula's water board voted Thursday against spending
$255,000 on an environmental study that would have laid the
foundation for a second ban on water credit transfers. The study
could have cleared the legal barriers that have kept the board from
banning the practice."
NPR's
Western Water Series
- Part one: The
vision of John Wesley Powell
(NPR, 08/26) "If
Congress had listened to explorer and scientist John Wesley Powell
125 years ago, the American West today might be an entirely
different place." No Krispy Kremes? The horror, the horror.
- Part two: Divvying
up the mighty Colorado
(NPR, 08/27) "What
do a glass of water in Los Angeles, a sprinkler in Phoenix, a toilet
in Denver and a fountain in Las Vegas have in common? It's likely
that much of the water in each comes from the same place: the
Colorado River." Oh. I was going to guess, "You
shouldn't drink from any of them." My mistake.
- Part three: The
battle over water rights
(NPR, 08/28) "Take
the arid West, stir in a bunch of people with high hopes for farming
and ranching and don't add water, and you end up with
long-lasting and bitter disputes. As NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports,
when it comes to water, the law of the West is simple and
unforgiving: the first one to use it gets it."
Water Meter News
Thanks
to Gentle Reader Jim Metropulos for sending these
two:
Water Quality
- Central Valley's
water quality plan was not developed
(Calresources.org, 08/28) "The
report has determined that the water quality standards contained in
the Water Quality Control Plan for the Central Valleys Sacramento
River, San Joaquin River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (commonly
referred to as the 'Basin Plan'), as originally developed in
1975 and subsequently amended thereafter, were not developed in
compliance with the requirements established under the federal Clean
Water Act and the state Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act."
- Lodi's
legal expenses continue to mount in pollution lawsuit
(Lodi Sentinel, 08/28) "Legal
expenses for the city's fight to clean up groundwater contamination
will likely surpass $22 million by the end of August."
- Marysville
neighbors fume over tainted water
(Appeal-Democrat, 08/28)
"Officials
with John Taylor Fertilizers Co. say they're moving "full steam
ahead" to clean contaminated groundwater, but neighboring
property owners remain skeptical."
- Tower Park
Marina residents angry over lack of notice
(Stockton Record, 08/28)
"Dozens
of steaming mad Tower Park Marina residents are questioning why they
were never told that potentially contaminated water was flowing out
of their home faucets. A water line break Sunday at the park raised
fears that drinking water at the park could be contaminated with
bacteria. On Monday, the local water company issued notices that
advised residents to boil their water for at least a minute."
Why were the residents only "steaming mad" and not
"boiling mad?"
- Copper
problem grows in Murrieta water
(NC Times, 08/28) "A
treatment program put in place by the Murrieta County Water District
to reduce copper in tap water may be having the opposite effect,
district officials say." Ohhhh! You wanted the copper taken
OUT?
- Dry
cleaners debate perc regulations
(SGV Tribune, 08/29)
"The
ins and outs of dry cleaning are hardly a concern for most
consumers. The mysterious process that takes a dirty piece of
clothing and turns it into a clean, crisp garment is more often
taken for granted than analyzed." As is the apparently
random pricing. Every time I take a shirt in it costs something
different.
Rivers, Lakes, and Creeks
- Brown
clouds in Sacramento River not sewage
(Chico ER, 08/28)
"Roiling
brown clouds in the Sacramento River have local fisherman wondering
- could it be the city's sewer treatment plant?"
- Del
Norte supervisors support Lake Earl plan
(Eureka Times Standard, 08/28)
"The
Del Norte County Board of Supervisors voted four to one Tuesday to
support the 'preferred alternative' outlined by the California
Department of Fish and Game in its draft management plan for the
Lake Earl Wildlife Area."
- Cummings
Creek a top-notch effort
(Eureka Times, 08/28) Editorial: "While
there is little doubt that it is necessary at times to sue a person
or a company, it is nice to see solutions that spring up outside the
walls of a courtroom. A solid fix has occurred outside of Carlotta,
on Cummings Creek. In 1997 a road failed, cutting off access to
upstream residents and dumping loads of dirt into the creek. The
bell had been tolling for that 1912-era road for years."
- Cal-Am
makes payment on
Carmel River project
(Monterey Herald, 08/29) "The
California-American Water Co. is paying the district $253,000 for
work the district did evaluating a now-defunct proposal to build a
new dam on the Carmel River. The money amounts to 77 percent of the
$329,000 the district says it is owed for the project."
- Resolution
backs unpolluted
New River
(IV Press, 08/28) "The
City Council here urged the United States and Mexican governments to
clean up the New River at its meeting here Tuesday night."
Because Mexico has always been about clean water.
- River
brush removal rules argued
(Monterey Herald, 08/29 "Benny
Jefferson watched the wall of water from the Salinas River devour
his farmland during the flood of 1995, and he doesn't want to see it
again."
- Volunteers
needed for San
Jose Creek restoration
(SGV Tribune, 08/29)
"Volunteers
are needed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 6 to help restore native
grasses and wildflowers along a portion of San Jose Creek in
Industry." Bring your own grass.
Stormwater News
Conference News
Local/Agency
News
- Chino
Hills mayor dies
(Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 08/28)
"Mayor
Jim Thalman, one of the city's first councilmen, died Wednesday
evening at his home after a short battle against cancer. He was 67."
- Three
win Rancho California Water Board
election
(NC Times, 08/28) "Challenger
John Rossi and incumbents Lisa Herman and Ralph Daily emerged
victorious in the race for three seats on the seven-member board of
the Rancho California Water District this week."
- Wasting
millions in the Padre Dam water district
(SD Union Tribune, 08/28) Opinion: "How
do you spell government waste in East County? A-u-g-i-e
S-c-a-l-z-i-t-t-i, an elected director of the Padre Dam Municipal
Water District. Why? Because once again Scalzitti and his board
majority have shown a knack for spending ratepayers' money on
overpriced, under-performing projects that bleed the district dry.
Like our illustrious governor, "spend, spend, spend" is
their motto."
About the
California Water News
The California Water
News is a weekday e-mail with links to current news stories in
the California water resources industry. Subscription is
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News, subject to editorial discretion.
Ken
Harlow
Brown and Caldwell
400 Exchange, Suite 100
Irvine,
CA 92602
714-689-4852
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