About Brown and Caldwell

Specialty Pages Asset Management Infrastructure Funding Water Resources BC News Exclusives Water in the West Water Mission in Iraq Big Changes for Little Walnut Creek Hurricane Katrina  Grizzly Water Veterans Road Warrriors: Water pros kick-start 'Buffalos' motorcycle gang Bennett's Beacon Going Coastal With Ellen Stern Harris

Staff Ken Harlow, Crusty Editor Jennifer Finley, Managing Editor (E-mail Jennifer)

Recent News 2/27/2006 2/28/2006 3/1/2006 3/2/2006 3/3/2006   Archives About this newsletter Reader kudos Reader FAQs

Resources Meetings Agency links Other links Blogs: Hill Water Issues blog Los Osos Sewer blog Notakeover.info Politics of water ScienceBlog.com Tothelastdrop

Monday, March 6, 2006 Quote of the Day: "They give you a round bat and they throw you a round ball and they tell you to hit it square." Willie Stargell Born on this Day: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Ring Lardner, Lou Costello, Ed McMahon, Wes Montgomery, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Willie Stargell, Mary Wilson, David Gilmour, Dick Fosbury,  Rob Reiner, and Shaquille O'Neal. On this Day in 1981: Walter Cronkite signed off for the last time as anchorman of "The CBS Evening News." 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: Marina Coast Water District: Operations Engineer Coachella Valley Water District: Right of Way Supervisor Coachella Valley Water District: Civil Engineer Flood Control (Stormwater) City of Anaheim: Water Transmission and Distribution Superintendent City of Redding: Municipal Utilities Manager - Wastewater Want more? See all postings. Today's News —  Water Supply Water rights bill 'anti-business,' Cal Am says (Monterey Herald, 3/5) "A bill that would give public entities the right of first refusal to buy private water companies offered for sale in Monterey County has drawn opposition from California American Water." Water clash brews over toxic soup of a river (Monterey Herald, 3/4) "If ever you doubted the dictum often attributed to Mark Twain that in the West, whiskey is for drinking but water is for fighting over, the New River stands as proof." Carmel River Lagoon to get recycled water (Monterey Herald, 3/4) "California American Water and the Carmel Area Wastewater District have signed an agreement to use recycled water to recharge the Carmel River Lagoon during the dry summer months." For thirsty farmers, old friends at Interior Dept. (New York Times, 3/3) "For more than 10 years, Jason Peltier was a paid advocate for the irrigation-dependent farmers here in the Central Valley of California, several hundred landowners who each year consume more water than the city of Los Angeles does." The Myths and Facts of Freshwater (WWF International, 3/4) Thanks to Mark Moss for this one. COMMENTARY. "More than one billion people worldwide do not have access to clean freshwater. More than two billion do not have adequate sanitation services and the annual death toll from water-borne diseases is estimated at more than five million." —  Water Quality Perchlorate: Chemical found in highest level yet (Riverside P/E, 3/4) "New tests have revealed 'astronomical' levels of perchlorate below a northern Rialto industrial site, causing concern that another wallop of the rocket-fuel chemical could make worse the pollution already in a key Inland drinking-water basin, officials said Friday." Pesticides jeopardize water quality (Associated Press, 3/4) "Most of the nation's rivers and streams -- and the fish in them -- are contaminated with pesticides linked to cancer, birth defects and neurological disorders, but not at levels that can harm humans."  Encinitas' clean water measure gets big response (SD Union Tribune, 3/4) "A record number of property owners have voted on the controversial clean water fee ballot measure." —  CalFED CalFED bill raises issues of access (Daily Democrat, 3/5) "Legislation aimed at strengthening the state's struggling CALFED agency also could shroud some of its dealings in secrecy, warned open-government groups." —  Hetch Hetchy After world peace ... Bay Area legislator seeks to stall debate on restoring Hetch Hetchy's grandeur (Sacramento Bee, 3/3) Editorial: "State Assemblyman Ira Ruskin of the Bay Area has released quite a list of Northern California projects that he wants to be completed before the state can study a higher use for Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite's other magnificent valley." —  Flooding/Levees Rain prompts flood warnings (Monterey County Herald, 3/6) "Officials warned of flooding and mudslides, as a storm system that moved into Northern California on Sunday brought high winds and heavy rain to the area." Flood Warning Issued for Napa and Russian Rivers (CBS, 3/5) "Heavy rains in the North Bay and across the Bay Area prompted the National Weather Service to issue two flood warnings, for the Napa river at St. Helena and the Russian River at Healdsburg." Tempting fate: Natomas flood risk wasn't pushed (Sacramento Bee, 3/3) Thanks to Bryan Plude for this one. "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." —  Surface Water Carlsbad to dredge part of Agua Hedionda Creek (SD Union Tribune, 3/4) "The city received an emergency permit yesterday from the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge sand from Agua Hedionda Creek and reduce a threat of flooding at a senior-citizen residential community." —  Wastewater Byron sewer plan has 60-day deadline (Contra Costa Times, 3/4) "Byron, under pressure to fix its languishing wastewater storage system, has avoided fines so far by cooperating with state officials. However, those same officials have said they'll give the tiny town only two more months -- 60 days total -- to come up with a viable repair plan before punitive penalties start to kick in." U.S. EPA orders three Southern California companies to limit wastewater discharges (EPA News Release, 3/3) "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered three Santa Ana, Calif.-based companies to limit their wastewater discharges and establish a self-monitoring plan to correct violations of the Clean Water Act." —  Meetings ACWA Legislative Symposium Set for March 8 (Business Wire, 3/5) "The schedule is packed with programs on flood protection, special district reserves, the governor's proposed infrastructure bond package and the legislature's response, and water recycling." —  Fees/Rates Fee increase approved for S.D. water systems (San Diego Union-Tribune, 3/3) "Owners of water systems that serve some small communities, schools and mobile home parks in rural San Diego County will be paying more to make sure their water is clean." It could cost more to flush in Tracy (Tri-Valley Herald, 3/3) "The Tracy City Council is considering a staff recommendation to raise the sewage rates in town by nearly 40 percent across the board for residential, commercial and industrial customers." —  Local/Agency News NCWD Director Still Needs to File (The Signal, 3/4) "One month after the most recent filing deadline and one Newhall County Water District director has not filed her campaign finance reports with the county." EMWD reports high credit rating results (EMWD News Release, 3/3) "Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) recently concluded the sale of approximately $160 million in revenue bonds. Of this, $150 million is earmarked for some of its major capital improvement projects which have been driven by the recent rapid growth in its 555 square mile service area." Flood district buys stretch of river bank (Napa Valley Register, 3/3) "George Altamura, one of Napa's most prominent property owners, has sold a small piece of his real estate holdings to the Napa Flood Control and Water Conservation District." 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