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 CWA: A Watershed Moment

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

Recent News 3/7/2006 3/8/2006 3/9/2006 3/13/2006 3/14/2006 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

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 Quote of the Day: "I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty." George Burns Born on this Day: Andrew Jackson, Macdonald Carey, Harry James, Judd Hirsch, Mike Love, Sly Stone, Fabio, Terence Trent, Rockwell, Mark McGrath, Mark Hoppus, Joseph Hahn, and Caitlin Wachs. On this Day in 44 BC: Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was assassinated by high ranking Roman Senators. The day is known as the "Ides of March." 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: California Regional Water Quality Control Board: Engineering Geologist Marin Municipal Water District: Water Quality Field Supervisor Contra Costa Water District: Maintenance Superintendent City of Hesperia: Maintenance Crew Supervisor Brownholtz & Associates LLC: Network Operations Supervisor Washington State Department of Health: Environmental Engineer Want more? See all postings. Pic of the Week Sunset in Shell Beach "This is a view from the beach located just below The Cliffs Resort in Shell Beach, California." Thanks to Janie Ramirez with American States Water Company. Asset Management Page Another new item on the Asset Management page: A Guest Series paper on how Redondo Beach struggled and finally succeeded in gaining adequate revenues to deal with its aging sewer system. There are some good "lessons learned" in this paper by readers Steve Huang of Redondo Beach, Desi Alvarez of Downey, and BC's own Grant Hoag and Lisa Spresney. Today's News —  The Bond Deal Reservoir debate emerges as sticking point (NC Times, 3/15) "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders struggled Tuesday to agree on a record-setting public works bond package that could reach the June ballot, with what one lawmaker called 'the diabolical politics of water' standing in the way." Klamath dams money in bond measure (Eureka Times–Standard, 3/14) "Tucked into the folds of the gigantic state infrastructure bond lawmakers were grappling with into the evening Monday is money aimed at buying and removing dams on the Klamath River. " Bond talk runs into $1 billion dam (Stockton Record, 3/14) "Negotiations continued Monday over the details of a proposed $49 billion bond that would widen roads, expand classrooms, purchase parks and repair levees, but the talks remained jammed over whether to build California’s first new dam in nearly 30 years." Compromise on public works plan still elusive (Los Angeles Times, 3/14) "With time running out, a compromise public works package — the top political priority of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic lawmakers this year — continued to elude negotiators Monday." Deadline stretched to get bond on  ballot (Sacramento Bee, 3/14) "Lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have given themselves one more day to try to put the largest bond measure in California history on the June ballot." Schwarzenegger's big bond deal still a no-go (San Jose Mercury News, 3/14) "After a tense day of negotiations filled with rumors, threats, confusion, locked doors and late-night meetings, state lawmakers Monday failed to reach a vote aimed at breathing new life into a $48 billion bond package for new schools, roads and levees." —  Water Livermore Council to seek irrigation options (Contra Costa Times, 3/15) "Nobody said it would be easy, but the Livermore City Council has agreed to explore how the city can get agricultural water to North Livermore in a bid to fend off development pressures north of Interstate 580 once and for all."  Water association chief talks about issues (Chico ER, 3/15) "California has had 11 wet years, which have put some aspects of California's water issues in the background. However, there are many issues that are continuing to develop that keep David Guy busy." Palco water quality hearing date set (Times Standard, 3/14) "Water quality officials are planning to hold long-delayed hearings on logging restrictions in Freshwater Creek and Elk River at the end of April." Despite recent rains, MID starts irrigation season (Merced Sun Star, 3/14) "Local farmers have started irrigating despite recent heavy rain and cold temperatures. Merced Irrigation District put water in canals on Thursday, two weeks earlier than what's typical, said Deputy District Manager Ted Selb III." Closing arguments heard in Nipomo water suit (San Luis Obispo Tribune, 3/14) "A judge heard closing arguments Friday in an eight-year-old lawsuit over water rights in the South County." Hearings on rural Nevada water delayed (Las Vegas Sun, 3/14) "State Engineer Hugh Ricci has some unkind words for the way the Las Valley Water District is pursuing its case to win the right to pump more than 150,000 acre-feet of water from rural Nevada." —  Perchlorate Perchlorate proposal is toughest in nation (Riverside PE, 3/15) "Massachusetts environmental protection officials Tuesday proposed the toughest cleanup standards in the nation for a rocket-fuel chemical that has contaminated drinking water and food supplies." —  Dams and Levees Dam in Hawaii bursts; seven people missing (Contra Costa Times, 3/15) "An earthen dam burst on the Hawaiian island of Kauai on Tuesday, sweeping away houses in a torrent of water 150 yards across. One person was killed and as many as seven others were reported missing." Levees: Monolithic cure sparks interest of engineers (Engineering News Record, 3/14) Thanks to Mark Capron for this one: "A San Francisco civil and structural  engineer has offered a scheme to strengthen weak levees in California’s Central Valley which has at least one engineer for several levee boards urging them to give it a look." —  Delta Mirant plants attract attention in Delta crisis (Contra Costa Times, 3/15) "A pair of Contra Costa County power plants that at one time killed tens of millions of fish a year are being scrutinized by researchers investigating potential causes of the ecological crash in the Delta." —  Flooding Cache Creek solution is top priority (Davis Enterprise, 3/13) "The flooding that took place on Cache Creek over New Year’s weekend reminded Yolo County residents that they still have no long-term solution to the problem." —  Meetings GRA: “Nitrate in California’s Groundwater: Are We Making Progress?” April 4. "Nitrate in groundwater is a widespread and persistent problem in California. The activities that contribute nitrate to groundwater – animal operations, crop fertilization, wastewater treatment discharge, septic systems – are essential to the economy of California."   —  Local/Agency News Rancho district looks to jump on lobbying effort (NC Times, 3/15) "A local water district wants to get federal funds for various projects, and to achieve that goal, is exploring joining forces with another water district that already has a lobbying presence in Washington, D.C." GE acquires water company for $656 million (San Francisco Chronicle, 3/14) "General Electric Co., the industrial, financial services and media conglomerate, plans to buy Zenon Environmental Inc., a water treatment company in Canada, for $656 million." —  Everything Else AWWA announces the availability of recent proceedings: 2005 Water Quality Technology Conference Proceedings (WQTC) (AWWA News Release, 3/154) "Proceedings from the 2005 Water Quality Technology Conference and Exposition held November 2005, in Quebec City, Quebec CN. Contributors are among the leading international experts who presented papers on the most pressing drinking water quality issues facing the industry and the very latest advances in water quality research and technology." 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