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Thursday, February 16, 2006 Quote of the Day: "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." Mark Twain Born on this Day: Henry Adams, Robert Flaherty, Katharine Cornell, Hugh Beaumont, Otis Blackwell, Sonny Bono, William Katt, James Ingram, LeVar Burton, Ice-T, Lisa Loring, John McEnroe, and Sam Salter. On this Day in 2005: The Kyoto global warming pact went into effect in 140 nations. We have added a link to DWR's California Water Plan Update 2005 on the Other Links page. Please take a moment to scroll down and check out all of the great info. available in the left column! 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: Suburban Water Systems: Quality Assurance Manager Otay Water District: Assistant Disinfection Technician City of Garden Grove: Project Engineer Long Beach Water Department: Administrative Officer City of Riverside: Utilities Water Systems Operator II Want more? See all postings. Today's News —  Delta Water War Officials: Solution needed for Delta's salty water (Stockton Record, 2/16) "State water officials Wednesday told agencies responsible for delivering water to 23 million Californians that they need to do something about salty Delta water - now."   Governor's plan could spark water fight in state (Inside Bay Area, 2/15) "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger began campaigning Tuesday for water-related aspects of his $222 billion public works proposal that could resurrect a decades-old battle over a canal skirting the Bay Area Delta — a plan voters overwhelmingly rejected amid fears it would drain Northern California to quench the thirst of the south state." California has an expensive thirst (Stockton Record, 2/15) "California needs more water. But there are far cheaper ways to get it than building new reservoirs and dams - the hot topic surrounding Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $35billion waterworks plan, which could send millions of flood-control dollars to San Joaquin County and the Delta." Congressional hearing on Delta set (Contra Costa Times, 2/15) "The scientific reasons for an unexplained ecological crisis in the Delta will be the subject of a congressional hearing later this month as lawmakers dive into California's latest water crisis." —  Other Water Supply North County's reservoir levels back to normal (SD Union Tribune, 2/16) "North County water storage tanks are back to normal levels, and all restrictions on using water have ended, water officials said yesterday." San Benito coughs up $84K for water plan (Hollister Free Lance, 2/15) "San Benito County will have to ante up nearly $84,000 for its share of a water plan, which, once complete, will serve as the blueprint for water and wastewater management for the region." Monterey County water project assessments cut (Monterey Herald, 2/15) "Monterey County has agreed to reduce fees it is assessing about 40 property owners for a project intended to greatly enhance the Salinas Valley water supply." Proposal threatens desalination plans (Monterey Herald, 2/15) Thanks to Jim Graham for this one: "In a move that could jeopardize proposed desalination plants from Moss Landing to Carlsbad, the California State Lands Commission appears poised to prohibit the renewal of permits for 'once-through' cooling systems at power plants after 2020." Squeezing tomorrow's water from today's technology (Las Vegas Sun, 2/15) "Ever wonder what a 21st century rain dance looks like? Nevada water officials are about to find out. With the state's thirst growing by the minute, water officials are asking engineers to find ways to modify the weather in the Colorado River watershed." Stopping White Pine County water from being piped south to thirsty Las Vegas (Associated Press, 2/15) "All it would take is an act of Congress. Tilford, 65, a lifelong Ely resident, wants to turn about 500 square miles around Great Basin National Park into a nature preserve, where strict environmental protections would prevent or curtail a plan to pump rural groundwater and pipe it 235 miles to Nevada's main urban area." Global warming threatens smug attitude about water supply (Mercury News, 2/15) Guest opinion from Larry Wilson, chairman of the Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors: "Paul Rogers' story summarizing results of a California Department of Water report ('Water supply OK through 2030,' Feb. 1) asserts that, 25 years from now, the Golden State will use about the same amount of water it uses today." —  Bottled Water Must be something in the water (NY Times, 2/15) Thanks to Bob Teeter for this one: "In 1977 the American public saw its first television commercial for bottled water. Orson Welles crooned about a place in the south of France where "there is a spring, and its name is Perrier," and the response was feverish. American sales of Perrier went up more than 3,000 percent from 1976 to 1979." —  Levees and Dams Bush budget neglects Delta levees (Tracy Press, 2/16) "President George W. Bush’s budget for next year calls for more than $200 million to be spent on projects designed to prevent floods and protect drinking water supplies in California." Protecting River Islands project: Superlevee (Stockton Record, 2/15) "The slopes of a newly built private levee system touted as essentially flood proof and designed to protect the massive River Islands housing project are showing signs of erosion created by heavy winter rains." Lesson falls on deaf ears (Ventura County Star, 2/15) Column. "The problem the feds plan to continue studying is the near-certainty that a big earthquake or storm will cause multiple levees to collapse in the flood-prone Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta, which is below sea level." Dam proposal raises concerns (Tracy Press, 2/15) "Bob Alvernaz gave up his San Francisco Bay Area cattle ranch 46 years ago as urban sprawl closed in. Today, his ranch in a remote, picturesque valley 60 miles north of Sacramento is threatened by a different kind of development — a reservoir that could be the first built with state funds since 1975." —  Surface Water Klamath tribes, farmers pledge collaboration (Eureka Times-Standard, 2/15) "Two Northern California American Indian tribes and a group of irrigators are trying to replace long-standing hostilities with a spirit of cooperation aimed at restoring the Klamath River." Lawsuit targets work on Santa Clara River (LA Times, 2/15) "Three environmental groups filed suit against the Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday, accusing the federal agency of not properly protecting the Santa Clara River, one of the last free-flowing rivers in Southern California." —  Pollution Hilmar faces more pollution rules (Sacramento Bee, 2/15) "Hilmar Cheese Co. has agreed to a "significantly stronger and more enforceable" settlement than the one rejected last fall in the landmark water-pollution case, prosecutors said Tuesday." —  The Nukes Tritium leaks found at two more nuclear plants (Associated Press, 2/15) "Elevated levels of radioactive tritium have been found in water leaked at two more Exelon Corp. nuclear power plants, the utility announced Wednesday." —  Local/Agency News Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District directors agree to rework pay policy (NC Times, 2/16) "After bitterly arguing about concerns raised by one of their own over the last several weeks, water district directors agreed Wednesday to retool and clarify their pay policy." Olivenhain district refinances Bonds and saves over $2 million dollars (Olivenhain Municipal Water District News Release, 2/15) "On February 14th, 2006 the Olivenhain Municipal Water District (District) refinanced $39 million dollars of revenue bonds from a 1997 bond issuance and due to the District’s new rating from Standard and Poor’s of ‘A+’, along with a favorable municipal bond market, the District was able to save net $2.3 million dollars (present value) on its annual debt service for the bond issuance." 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