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Monday, April 17, 2006 Quote of the Day: ""Luck is the residue of design." Branch Rickey (Thanks to Maggi Brooks with the Long Beach Water Department for this one.) Born on this Day: Thornton Wilder, Wiliam Holden, Harry Reasoner, Don Kirshner, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Boomer Esiason, Liz Phair, and Jennifer Garner. On this Day in 1970: The astronauts of Apollo 13 splashed down safely  in the Pacific Ocean, after four harrowing days in their crippled spacecraft. 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: City of Santa Monica: Water Production and Treatment Plant Operator City of American Canyon: Civil Engineering Tech I Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District: Water Quality Technician City of Burbank: Water Service Planner City of Lompoc: Wastewater Plant Operations Supervisor City of Oceanside: Management Analyst-Water Utilities Want more? See all postings. Today's News —  Water Would canal ease the risk to our water supply? (Daily Breeze, 4/17) "Thumped at the polls and discarded as politically toxic long ago, a dedicated pipeline to Southern California is getting a fresh look in the wake of rising fears that a catastrophic levee break could cut off water deliveries through the Sacramento Delta." Water officials welcome Whittier area rainfall (Whittier Daily News, 4/17) "For Whittaker's district, which serves the entire Whittier area, rainfall means money. 'This is all free water,' he said. 'We have to pay about $300 an acre foot for water if we don't get it free. We're talking about $15 million.'" Americans thirst for bottled water (USA Today, 4/16) "Our love affair with bottled water is no fling: It's a growing, long-term relationship. Sales of bottled water rose 9% in 2005, continuing a steady trend. Since 2003, the only beverages with higher sales have been carbonated soft drinks, the Beverage Marketing Corp. says." Looking to the sky for a water supply (NC Times, 4/16) "What started two years ago as a class assignment and a joke about Dixie cups on rooftops to gather rain has turned into a multiyear project in which a UC Riverside graduate and his instructor are now seeking to reintroduce the old water conservation method and turn it into the latest trend." The delicate act of juggling water (LA Times, 4/16) "Here, 20 miles northeast of Fresno, dam operators have to make room for the coming snowmelt in the smallest reservoir in the big federal water project that greens the Central Valley. But they can't let out too much water or it will break through the aging, earthen levee system that guards towns and farms downstream." Recycled water gets new use (Capital Press, 4/15) "Recycled water is used throughout California on vegetables, tree crops and other commodities but Napa County doesn’t have any other agriculture other than vineyards to use the recycled water." —  Dams and Levees Auburn Dam has a tiny backer (Sacramento Bee, 4/17) "The American River Authority doesn't have the cash to buy an average new car. Yet this obscure government agency will decide next month whether to sponsor the construction of an Auburn dam, potentially a $5 billion project." Lake Calavera Dam project up for discussion (NC Times, 4/17) "A request to stop a Lake Calavera Dam repair project and plans to create a 25-member city committee to discuss the Cannon Road development controversy will go before the Carlsbad City Council on Tuesday evening." Crews check fragile levees from the sky (Ventura County Star, 4/16) "When the San Joaquin River swelled and began to test area levees last weekend, Rodney Mayer had a bird's-eye view." State promises Oroville Dam benefits (Marysville Appeal Democrat, 4/15) "Oroville Mayor Gordon Andoe says he's happy with what the state has promised in the relicensing of Oroville Dam. But he's not so happy with what it took to get there." —  Surface Water Delta Smelt's fate worries scientists (LA Times, 4/15) "Last summer, state fish and game workers dragged a net dozens of times through the milk-chocolate waters of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, looking for a tiny, steely blue fish found nowhere else in the world. The catch, 17 delta smelt, was shockingly small." Regular folks polluting the Bay (Contra Costa Times, 4/15) Commentary. "Gone are the days when the Bay was choked with raw sewage and industrial pollution and every city used its shoreline as a dump. The Bay is cleaner than it was 40 years ago when sewers and factories weren't regulated. But pollution still threatens Bay. Now Bay Area residents are the problem." —  Ocean News Hawaii crews vacuum up invasive algae (Associated Press, 4/15) Thanks to Mark Moss for this one: "Marine researchers in Hawaii discovered a new way to clean ocean water from invasive algae -- sucking them up with an underwater vacuum." —  Toxins/Pollution EPA seeks to reduce reporting on toxics (SD Union Tribune, 4/17) "As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency touts data showing that pollution is dropping nationwide, it's also proposing to sharply reduce the amount of information about some toxic chemicals that companies would have to make public." Bill seeks tests for toxins (Monterey Herald, 4/17) "Everyday living may be hazardous to your health -- and Californians should spend millions to do something about that, according to a new bill under consideration by lawmakers." —  Meetings AWA Ventura WaterWise Breakfast Program April 20. "Guest Speakers: Steven John EPA, Director of Southern California Field Office Cindy Lin EPA, Clean Water Act – TMDLs Program."   Mission possible: Campeones de los Cañones April 29. (Wetland Avengers, 04/03) At Border Field State Park "Join volunteers from both sides of the border on a mission possible to save this unique wetland habitat! Kids and adults become avengers as they take part in the largest volunteer event of its kind."   —  Local/Agency News Apple Valley watchdogs cast wary eye on water (Victorville Daily Press, 4/17) "The town’s potential takeover of two for-profit water companies is fraught with potential pitfalls, according to representatives from the Cato and Rose institutes." Cal Am drops bid for money (Monterey Herald, 4/17) "California American Water has decided it will no longer seek reimbursement from ratepayers for more than $500,000 the company spent on 'public outreach' to promote its proposed desalination project because the costs could be interpreted as lobbying expenses." Byron fights to keep control of sanitation (Contra Costa Times, 4/16) "People outside Byron say they want to help the tiny town fix its antiquated sewer system. But Byron sanitation district officials say they have their own ideas, thank you very much." DWP also lights up the stage (LA Daily News, 4/16) Column. "By day, they are mild-mannered engineers, legal secretaries and customer-service representatives working at the downtown offices of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power." MWD bracing for strike (SGV Tribune, 4/15) "Metropolitan Water District union leaders said a strike is 'inevitable' after a last attempt to reach an agreement failed Wednesday." Board's new member plunges into politics (Riverside P/E, 4/15) "Joseph Kuebler typically spends about 25 hours a month on water, but little of it aboard 'Ruffelschnickel,' the beloved 34-foot sailboat he keeps in Coronado Cays Harbor near San Diego." —  Everything Else 1906 quake today could be more lethal (Times Star, 4/17) "If the Bay Area were rocked by a huge tremor today as powerful as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the human toll could be worse than it was 100 years ago, with as many as 3,400 killed, a quarter-million families homeless and up to 140,000 buildings wrecked, according to a study released today." Rain has officials on alert for virus (Oakland Tribune, 4/15) "A very rainy spring could lead to a buggy summer, and that has health and vector control officials on high alert for the West Nile virus."   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