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Tuesday, January 17, 2006 Quote of the Week: "Human beings are seventy percent water, and some the rest is collagen." Martin Mull Born on this Day: Benjamin Franklin, Al Capone, Nevil Shute, Betty White, Eartha Kitt, Vidal Sassoon, James Earl Jones, Troy Donahue, Maury Povich, Muhammad Ali, Andy Kaufman, Steve Earle, Paul Young, David Caruso, Steve Harvey, Jim Carrey, Shabba Ranks, and Kid Rock. On this Day in 1773: Captain Cook's Resolution became the first European ship to cross the Antarctic Circle. Sent to more than 20,000 readers nationwide... and thousands more via our lineup of online ads like the one above that appears on watertechonline.com Latest postings: Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District: General Manager Rancho California Water District:  Instrument & Controls Technician I/II/Sr. Rancho California Water District: Water Quality Technician I/II/Senior CA-NV-AWWA: Executive Director Delta Diablo Sanitation District: Electrical/Instrumentation Technician II Want more? See all postings. *****BC EXCLUSIVE***** Going Coastal With Ellen Stern Harris "From redwood forests to sandy beaches, the Pacific coastline captures California’s adventurous spirit. Here, the steadfast traveler can wind through breathtaking landscape and terrain, past sheer and rugged cliffs to rich sand and powerful surf. But, please, don't take it for granted. Without the dedication and determination of one strong-willed spirit, this trip most likely would offer an entirely different ocean view today." READ MORE>>> Today's News —  The Dry World Drought grips Midwest (ABC News, 1/17) "Travis Briscoe's family has ranched in Oklahoma since the Land Run in 1889. He is the fifth generation to earn a living working the land and, like his grandfather, who survived the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, he is finding out what it's like to eke out a living during a drought." Despair builds over Oklahoma's drought (Everett Herald, 1/17) "The damage will linger for years for ranchers and farmers in Oklahoma and surrounding states." Tennessee farmers fear drought could persist (Ashland City Times, 1/17) "Dry weather, especially around harvest time, helped boost cotton production to a record high in Tennessee last year. But other crops didn't fare as well and there are fears that continued dry weather could spell trouble for farmers in the coming year." Drought, funding shortages, problems in Kenya (Pravda, 1/17) "Malnourished children cried feebly in hospital in this drought-stricken corner of Kenya, too weak to even make themselves heard as aid agencies warned Tuesday that they do not have money to feed millions of Kenyans hit by food shortages." Prolonged drought hits South China's Guangdong (Xinhua, 1/17) "South China's Guangdong province has been suffering from drought for three months and the provincial meteorological bureau said the drought may become more serious in the future." Drought delays cultivation of Vietnam's rice crop (VietNamNet Bridge, 1/17) "Drought continues parching many areas across Vietnam, preventing farmers from beginning their winter-spring rice cultivation." —  Water Quality CLWA eyes cleanup funding (LA Daily News, 1/16) "The Castaic Lake Water Agency is mapping its federal and state lobbying strategy for coming year, including designs on at least $13 million from Washington, D.C., for local groundwater decontamination." No reproductive risk notice under new DBP rule (WaterWeek, 1/16) "US water suppliers that exceed disinfection by-products (DBPs) standards under USEPA's newly promulgated Stage 2 Disinfection By-products (DBPs) rule will not be required to include any information about potential reproductive and developmental health effects in public notices." —  Infrastructure Burbank gets grant for seismic retrofits (LA Daily News, 1/17) "The city has received a $1.4 million federal grant for seismic retrofits of aging municipal buildings and infrastructure." Levee districts in fiscal straits hit hardest (Modesto Bee, 1/17) "Two-thirds of the California levee maintenance districts that experienced problems during the New Year's storms are among the districts a recent Bee investigation found to be in poor financial shape." —  Surface Water Reclamation putting water in Klamath bank again (Eureka Times Standard, 1/17) "The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is again seeking to buy billions of gallons of water from farmers in the Upper Klamath River basin to send downstream for salmon this year." 'First flush' pollutants washed away (Stockton Record, 1/16) "Once a year, the first winter rains rinse a varied mix of pesticides, bacteria and other nasties through Stockton's storm-drain system and out to the Delta, poisoning fish and plants." —  Flooding Yuba flooding under review (Marysville Appeal-Democrat, 1/17) "High-running rivers from recent storms may have gone down, but Yuba County officials want to review how the county handled the event and would like to hear public comment." —  Wastewater Sewage system failures probed in Los Angeles (LA Times, 1/17) "Los Angeles County sanitation officials said Monday that they were unable to explain a chain of failures that led to what they are calling the largest sewage spill into Santa Monica Bay in a decade." Sewage spill shuts Los Angeles beaches (Associated Press, 1/17) "Miles of pristine beaches remained closed to swimmers and surfers Monday following a sewage spill, officials said." String of glitches led to sewer mess on beaches (Daily Breeze, 1/17) "As crews attempted to corral and clean as much as 2 million gallons of stinking sewage on South Bay beaches Monday, county sanitation officials described the triple failures that led to the spill as 'Murphy's Law.'" Sludge on Kern County supervisors' agenda (Ridgecrest Daily Independent, 1/16) "The Kern County Board of Supervisors will meet Tuesday at 9 a.m. to consider an ordinance banning the importation of sewage sludge into the county." —  Solid Waste Solid waste creates sticky problem in Oakland (SF Chronicle, 1/16) "Oakland has a poop problem. The city, like others nationwide, is home to thousands of Canada geese, which have found the region's temperate climate and lush parks make it a wonderful place to spend the year." —  Local/Agency News Felton water bill: $36,800 in legal fees (Santa Cruz Sentinel, 1/17) "A judge has ordered Felton resident Patrick Dugan to pay $36,800 in legal fees for his challenge of the ballot argument on Felton's waterworks last May." Recovery in Atlanta may aid San Bernardino (San Bernardino Sun, 1/16) "The project centers around a reservoir that is intended to provide water for the city and surrounding municipalities as well as breathe life into a dying downtown." 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 free to qualified persons!  Please go to our subscription page to subscribe.  For more information, you can also see some frequently asked questions. Referrals to new subscribers are welcome, as are suggestions for new links, news stories, opinion pieces, and your agency's press releases.   Any documents you e-mail us may be published on our web site and linked to from the News, subject to editorial discretion. Ken Harlow Brown and Caldwell 400 Exchange, Suite 100 Irvine, CA 92702 714-689-4852