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Friday, March 24, 2006 Quote of the Week: "Do not accustom yourself to use big words for little matters." Samuel Johnson Born on this Day: Harry Houdini, Arthur Murray, Gene Nelson, Norman Fell, Steve McQueen, Bob Mackie, Louie Anderson, Robert Carradine, Kelly LeBrock ,Star Jones, Lara Flynn Boyle, Alyson Hannigan, Peyton Manning, Olivia Burnette, and Keisha Castle-Hughes. On this Day in 1989: The Exxon Valdez spilled 240,000 barrels (11 million gallons) of oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound. 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: The Sea Ranch Water Company: Operator II Olivenhain Municipal Water District: Potable Water Treatment Facilities Supervisor (Grade V Operator) Metropolitan Water District: Engineer Alameda County Water District: Accounting Assistant Solano County Water Agency: Water Resources Specialist/Instrumentation Want more? See all postings. Today's News —  Water The Eternal Dustbowl; Paying for the sins of L.A.’s water barons creates half-billion-dollar boondoggle (LA Weekly, 3/23) Thanks to Carla Scheidlinger for this one: "Beyond the arid vacancy of the Mojave Desert, U.S. 395 enters the austere majesty of the Owens Valley. To the east are the reddish peaks of the Cosos." Kern County water bank plan upheld on appeal (LA Daily News, 3/24) "A state appellate court Thursday upheld a lower court decision allowing a local water agency to bank of groundwater in Kern County - a plan two environmental groups challenged alleging officials failed to study the project's impacts as required by law." Santa Ana Mountains tunnel idea unites agencies (Riverside P/E, 3/24) "A combined effort to determine if it is possible to build a tunnel under the Santa Ana Mountains should work well as long as the water and transportation agencies that are supposed to work together agree to share the recognition, one board member said." Battle over creek brewing between SLO, board (SLO Tribune, 3/24) "Faced with $40 million in sewer upgrades, the city of San Luis Obispo is considering asking to do what no other agency along the Central Coast has ever done — remove a body of water's designation as a drinking water source." Plan developed to avoid devastating impact of drought on San Diego County’s economy (SDCWA News Release, 3/23) "The San Diego County Water Authority board of directors today reviewed a draft of a drought management plan designed to protect the region’s $150 billion economy and the quality of life of 3 million residents." Congressmen wade in on Butte's side in DWR fight (Chico ER, 3/23) "A pair of new and potentially powerful allies are backing Butte County in its battle with the state Department of Water Resources over the Lake Oroville Project." —  Clean Water Act Sixty percent of big U.S. factories violate water law (Gannett News Service, 3/24) "More than 60 percent of the nation's biggest factories and sewage plants have violated the Clean Water Act by spewing pollution into the nation's rivers, lakes and bays, according to a report released Thursday." —  Dams and Levees State to probe New Hogan Dam operations (Stockton Record, 3/24) "State water officials said this week they plan to visit New Hogan Dam to answer questions about whether dam operators have the proper permits and licenses required by state law." Levee sanity; Top Dems right to embrace emergency work (San Diego Union-Tribune, 3/23) Editorial: "As hard as this may be to believe, there's some good news coming out of Sacramento. Assembly Speaker Fabian NÚñez, D-Los Angeles, and Senate President Don Perata, D-Oakland, say Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should proceed full speed ahead with his emergency plan for $75 million to $100 million in repairs to 24 state levees without formal approval of the Legislature." —  Surface Water Mercury in the lake? Scientists question report (Tahoe Daily Tribune, 3/23) "Water quality regulators at Tahoe were skeptical Wednesday about a new report that claims Lake Tahoe is impacted by mercury and pesticides, saying they are not aware of evidence these pollutants have been problems here." Supreme Court won't hear Missouri River appeal (Associated Press, 3/22) "The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear North Dakota's arguments that the Army Corps of Engineers has violated state water pollution laws in managing the Missouri River's water flows." —  Floodwater West Sac mystery; How solid is flood protection? (ENN.com, 3/23) Editorial: "West Sacramento provides its residents with outdated information when it comes to their flood protection. On the city's Web site, West Sacramento claims that its river levees are tall enough and strong enough to withstand a storm that has a 1-in-350 chance of arriving any given winter. That represented a fairly solid assurance of protection - but not anymore." —  Wastewater Solana Beach could raise sewer rates (SD Union Tribune, 3/24) "Sewer rates could increase 15 percent or more to help pay for an extensive overhaul of the city's 40-year-old sewer system." —  Nukes Yucca nuclear site faces big hurdles, report says (MSNBC, 3/24) "Progress toward opening the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump is still hindered by questions about the quality of scientific and engineering work, a year after allegations of fraud emerged, congressional investigators said Thursday." —  Warming Polar shift: Melting ice, quakes and higher seas (MSNBC, 3/24) "Greenland and Antarctica are seeing faster than expected warming that triggers glacial quakes and has the potential for a sharp rise in sea levels, according to three peer-reviewed studies published Thursday." —  Local/Agency News Elsinore Valley board adopts new pay policies (NC Times, 3/24) "Of the more than 1,500 meetings and events for which water board members were paid to attend over the last three years, only 46 were questionable, according to the findings of an independent audit released Thursday." Middle Fork Project winning support (Auburn Journal, 3/23) "Voting 5-0, supervisors agreed to a proposal that would see the county treasury loan an estimated $32 million for a joint county-Placer County Water Agency drive to renew a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license for a series of dams, reservoirs and power generation facilities." —  Everything Else Sec. Norton recognizes Moab's John Keys career (EPA News Release, 3/24) "Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton last week announced the resignation of John W. Keys III of Moab, from his position as Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. Norton lauded Keys’ service to the nation and his success in handling water issues associated with the worst five years of drought in the past five centuries." NADB´s future seen as safe (El Universal, 3/22) "After weeks of fretting about the fate of the North American Development Bank (NADB) responsible for millions of dollars worth of development on the U.S.-Mexico border, border representatives said Tuesday the binational fund is safe." 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