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Tuesday, February 14, 2006 Quote of the Day: "There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread." Mother Teresa Born on this Day: John Barrymore, Jack Benny, Jimmy Hoffa, Hugh Downs, Vic Morrow, Florence Henderson, Carl Bernstein, Gregory Hines, Pat O'Brien, Ken Wahl, Meg Tilly, Drew Bledsoe, and Kevin Blades. On this Day in 1889: In Los Angeles, oranges began their first trip to the east. 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: Las Virgenes Municipal Water District: Principal Engineer Inland Empire Utilities Agency: Associate Engineer - Grants Administration Metro. Water Dist. of So. Cal.: Maintenance Mechanic I City of Mesa, AZ: Senior Civil Engineer (Water Division) Walnut Valley Water District: Utility Service Lead Metropolitan Water District: Engineering Technician III (Hazardous Materials) Want more? See all postings. Today's News —  Water Supply North County agencies reflect on pipeline closure (NC Times, 2/14) "With drinking water flowing back into San Diego County after a week-long pipeline closure, the managers of several North County water agencies said Monday their customers did a good job of conserving once they found out how badly it was needed." Modesto weighing TID idea (Modesto Bee, 2/14) "Regional project would draw water from Tuolumne, serve south area." No water worries for officials after weather patterns leave Central Coast high and dry (SLO Tribune, 2/14) "The high temperatures and low rainfall so far this year have already set numerous records, but water managers aren’t too concerned because of the copious rains from a year ago." Final PEIR for BBARWA recycled water plan (BBARWA News Release, 2/13) "The Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency (BBARWA) has addressed comments and finalized the Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for their Recycled Water Master Plan which includes the study of groundwater recharge." Great Plains underground water vanishes (Associated Press, 2/13) "The Ogallala aquifer, the vast underground pool that feeds faucets across the Great Plains, is running low, forcing farmers and towns to find other sources of water and pay dearly for it, too." —  Desalination Cal Am cries foul on desal permit pace (Monterey Herald, 2/14) "As their competitors draw nearer to approval of a pilot desalination project, officials from California American Water are crying foul over what they say are new county requirements stalling their pilot project." Sand City changes midstream (Monterey Herald, 2/14) "Sand City has switched gears and will put out to bid both the design and construction of its small desalination plant." Chevron undecided about Estero future (SLO Tribune, 2/13) "Since the plant shut down, several companies proposed using the site as a transoceanic cable landing spot or site for a water desalination plant. The land is suitable for those purposes because it is the focal point of pipeline rights of way that could be used for piping water or laying cable." —  Surface Water Groups sue Corps over Santa Clara River projects (LA Daily News, 2/14) "Worried that the Santa Clara River could end up as paved and polluted as the Los Angeles River, a group of environmentalists plans to file suit today charging that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has rubber-stamped development along the natural waterway without studying the ecological impacts." Bureau will reduce Lake Shasta releases (Redding Record Searchlight, 2/14) "The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plans to decrease Sacramento River flows at Keswick Dam from Monday's 11,000 cubic feet per second to 6,800 cfs early Thursday morning. Keswick gets most of its water from Shasta Dam, which holds back Lake Shasta, and flows there also will be reduced."  Proposal for Calaveras River fish faces scrutiny (Stockton Record, 2/14) "A water district's long-awaited plan for protecting fish on the Calaveras River is receiving considerable scrutiny - even though few have actually seen it." Northern China wetlands drying up (Reuters , 2/13) Thanks to Mark Moss for this one: "The wetlands along northern China's biggest river system are drying up because of the thirst of an expanding population and a fast-growing economy, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday" —  Beach Bacteria Scientist uncovers mysteries of beach sand (Orange County Register, 2/12) "Like a weak but persistent heartbeat, the two bacterial hot spots pulse with a regular rhythm, turning up in the surf near shore about once every two weeks." —  Mine Soledad Canyon mine deal is approved (LA Daily News, 2/14) "The county had rejected the mine, but conceded when Cemex filed a lawsuit in federal court. County supervisors granted the mining permit in June 2004 under a court-approved consent decree.The city appealed the decree, claiming it and the environmental impact report violate the California Environmental Quality Act, the federal Clean Water and Clean Air acts and the National Environmental Policy Act."  —  Levees Star Bend levee ‘eroding' (Marysville Appeal-Democrat, 2/14) "A former engineer of Levee District 1 left the board a 'to-do' list of problems that includes serious erosion near Star Bend that appeared after high water on the Feather River last month."  —  Local/Agency News LADWP head spends millions without oversight (Associated Press, 2/14) "A decades-old policy has allowed the head of the Department of Water and Power to approve more than $100 million in spending during the past 18 months without review by the board that oversees the agency." Linda County rate hikes proposed (Marysville Appeal-Democrat, 2/13) "Linda County Water District directors will consider increasing water and sewer rates Monday." Judge denies freeze in Los Osos (Vacaville Reporter, 2/10) "A judge has denied a request by two Los Osos sewer contractors to freeze some of the local services district’s assets until they are paid $28 million." —  Everything Else IDSE guidance out for Stage 2 DBP rule (WaterWeek, 2/14) "New final guidance documents from USEPA provide water utilities subject to the recently promulgated Stage 2 Disinfection By-products (DBPs) rule with extensive details on how to comply with requirements for the Initial Distribution System Evaluation (IDSE)." AWWA announces the availability of a WSO Student Workbook: Water Treatment, Student Workbook 3e (AWWA, 2/14) "This workbook is designed for use with the text Water Treatment (AWWA #1956), which is the second volume in the series Principles and Practices of Water Supply Operations. This helpful workbook, updated from the 1995 edition, provides thorough understanding of common water treatment processes."     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