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Monday, February 27, 2006 Quote of the Day: "Our Constitution was not written in the sands to be washed away by each wave of new judges blown in by each successive political wind." Justice Hugo Black Born on this Day:  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Hugo Black, David Sarnoff, Gene Sarazen, John Steinbeck, Irwin Shaw, John Connally, Ariel Sharon, Joanne Woodward, Elizabeth Taylor, Ralph Nader, Howard Hesseman, and Chelsea Clinton. On this Day in 1827: New Orleans held its first Mardi Gras celebration. Sent to more than 23,000 readers nationwide... and thousands more via our lineup of online ads like the one above that appears on watertechonline.com Latest postings: Santa Fe Irrigation District: Human Resources Technician Valley County Water District: General Manager City of Redlands: Customer Service Field Tech Calleguas MWD: Assistant or Associate Project Manager Municipal Water District of Orange County: Water Use Efficiency Program Specialist Municipal Water District of Orange County: Intern (2 positions) California Water Service Company: Manager of Laboratory Services City of Glendale: Principal Civil Engineer Want more? See all postings. Today's News —  Bond Proposal Governor defends bond proposal (Associated Press, 2/27) "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday defended his record public works borrowing proposal as essential for California's future, characterizing it as an investment rather than a spending plan." —  State of Emergency: Levees House delegation studies Sacramento area levees (Sacramento Bee, 2/26) "Two influential leaders of the House of Representatives studied Sacramento area rivers and levees from every vantage point this past weekend, and on Sunday declared their commitment to helping solve the area's flooding risks." Focus on levees raises hopes (LA Times, 2/26) "The governor's emergency declaration for Sacramento Delta levees, announced on the eve of the state Republican Party's annual convention, is intended to speed as much as $100 million toward riverfront repairs in places like Labson's neighborhood, which could be swamped by 15 feet of floodwater if luck doesn't hold." Time to repair Delta's levee system (Contra Costa Times, 2/26) Editorial. "For too long, California has been lax in shoring up the 1,100 miles of levees in the Delta. Federal funding has dwindled and local reclamation districts do not have the funds to do large projects." Gov. declares emergency to speed levee repairs (SD Union Tribune, 2/25) "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Friday for California's levee system, a step officials said would help speed up repairs to 24 flood-prone sites." —  Water Supply Feds to fork over water, but where to put it? (Stockton Record, 2/26) "Anyone have a really, really big water tank? For the first time, the federal government is giving Stockton's largest water agency all the water it was initially supposed to get under contracts signed 18 years ago." More San Jacinto Valley water will be available (Riverside P/E, 2/26) "The Eastern Municipal Water District is responding by building the Hemet Water Filtration Plant to increase the availability of treated tap water imported from Northern California." Water agencies look at expanding Los Vaqueros (Alameda Times-Star, 2/25) "The reservoir could be expanded by as much as five times its current capacity, potentially becoming a major player for the Bay Area water industry and a resource for water needs." State's attitude toward water makes no sense (NC Times, 2/26) Editorial. "A real water market ---- in other words, capitalism ---- would allocate supplies to those who want it fairly and efficiently. No taxes required." Oakdale floats plan to save water (Modesto Bee, 2/26) "A survey of the 330 miles of laterals, pipelines and tunnels that make up the Oakdale Irrigation District concludes that it uses more water per acre than any neighboring district." Hunter urges group to work with tribe on water (San Diego Union-Tribune, 2/24) "On a ridge overlooking the Barona Indian Reservation, Rep. Duncan Hunter met yesterday with a small group of water-deprived homeowners, urging them to work with the tribe – through a mediator, if necessary – to get an agreement guaranteeing them a share of any imported water that Barona obtains." Farm Bureau defends reservoir project (Fresno Bee, 2/24) "Farmers gathered at the Madera County Farm Bureau on Thursday to battle negative publicity about an underground reservoir project that has drawn some political heat and legal action." —  Water Quality Perchlorate - many bills but few laws (LA Daily News, 2/27) "Barely a month into the session, Congress has introduced more than 150 bills that would do everything from preserving American Indian languages to appropriating federal funds to clean perchlorate-contaminated groundwater." State: Bolinas water is safe (Marin Independent-Journal, 2/25) "Officials are warning the public that acids in drinking water from the Bolinas Community Public Utility District exceed federal standards, but there's no need for alarm." States push USEPA for more grant funding (WaterWeek, 2/24) "State environmental officials have urged USEPA to boost funding dramatically for grants to support state programs that implement agency regulations, including clean and safe water regulations." —  MTBE Lawsuits take aim at Temecula hospital (NC Times, 2/27) "The nurses union lawsuit alleges that even though city officials for years had been aware that gasoline had leaked from tanks in the area, they failed to consider the potential effects of ground or water contamination before approving the hospital." —  Hetch Hetchy Restoration of valley an unparalleled opportunity (The Daily Californian, 2/24) Thanks to Jerry Cadagan for this one: "Over 80 years ago a terrible mistake was made when Congress authorized the building of a dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. The valley was the slightly smaller twin sister of the magnificent Yosemite Valley, with comparable booming waterfalls, soaring granite walls and rock formations, wildflowers and a free flowing Tuolumne River. Shortly after Congress sealed the Valley's fate, John Muir died-it is said of a broken heart." —  Surface Water Delta decline will be probed (Oakland Tribune, 2/26) "The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is dying. And Congress wants to know why." Salton Sea board favors raise, adds job (Desert Sun, 2/25) "The caretakers of the Salton Sea gave their top executive a raise and added a government liaison to the staff to advocate for a comprehensive plan to improve the state of the troubled lake." Feds may drastically cut salmon season (Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 2/25) "Regulators may severely curtail commercial and sport salmon fishing off California this year, and could even cancel the season. The number of mature chinook salmon leaving the ocean to spawn in the Klamath and Trinity rivers has fallen short of a goal of 35,000 two years running, biologists said." Congressional panel sets hearing on Delta (Sacramento Bee, 2/24) "A congressional committee will hold a field hearing Monday to discuss problems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region." —  Flooding Tempting fate: Natomas flood risk wasn't pushed (Sacramento Bee, 2/26) "For more than six years, as new suburbs exploded in Natomas, flood officials missed chance after chance to ask tougher questions about whether levees had ever been strong enough to allow such growth." —  Wastewater Mexico's water chief hints at Bajagua OK (SD Union Tribune, 2/25) "Mexico's top water official said this week that his agency would probably back a controversial proposal by a San Diego company to build and operate a sewage treatment plant in Mexico." —  Mercury Nevada explores options to block shipments (Associated Press, 2/26) "Nevada officials are searching for ways to halt the shipment of more than 4,000 metric tons of the military's mercury stockpile to the Hawthorne Army Depot." —  Local/Agency News Water rates top Modesto council's agenda (Modesto Bee, 2/27) "Modesto's decision to increase water rates in 2005, a volatile issue for many residents, is to be at the center of a City Council discussion Tuesday." OCWD re-elects slate of board members for 2006 (OCWD News Release, 2/25) "The Orange County Water District (OCWD) re-elected Philip Anthony as president of the board for the 2006 term."   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