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Thursday, April 27, 2006 Quote of the Day: "Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual." Terry Pratchett Born on this Day: Samuel F.B. Morse, Ulysses S. Grant, Jack Klugman, Coretta Scott King, Judy Carne, Bob Foster, Cuba Gooding, Ace Frehley, Sheena Easton, James Le Gros, and Mica Paris. On this Day in 1938: A colored baseball was used for the first time in any baseball game. The ball was yellow and used between Columbia and Fordham Universities in New York City. Sent to more than 24,000 readers nationwide... and thousands more via our lineup of online ads like the one above that appears on watertechonline.com Latest postings: MWD of Southern California: General Counsel Orange County Water District: Principal Project Accountant City of Fountain Valley: Water Quality Technician Marina Coast Water District: District Engineer City of Santa Cruz: Wastewater Mains Field Crew Leader Want more? See all postings. Today's News —  Water Bonds and Bills Parks-water bond closer to ballot (San Jose Mercury, 4/27) "A coalition of 11 leading environmental groups has turned in nearly double the number of signatures needed to qualify the largest parks and water bond in state history for the November ballot." Assembly Committee approves water efficiency bill (YubaNet, 4/27) "A landmark water conservation bill has progressed in the California Assembly. Sponsored by the Pacific Institute, AB 2515 would improve on California's commitment to water conservation." —  Water Petaluma facing water supply crisis (Petaluma Argus-Courier, 4/27) "Without a major focus on conserving and re-using water and higher development fees to fund it, Petaluma could find itself experiencing supply shortages as soon as 2008, according to a new report unveiled at a special City Council workshop Monday." Plan doesn't hold water (Stockton Record, 4/27) Editorial. "There is nothing good to report regarding California water policy. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's flawed reorganization plan for the group of state and federal agencies known as CALFED has little chance of gaining legislative approval." Drinking-water legislation passes first hurdle (Riverside P/E, 4/26) "A proposal to discourage the use of drinking water for irrigating golf courses and other non-potable uses in the parched Coachella Valley passed its first committee Tuesday." Board of Santa Fe district to vote on water plan (SD Union Tribune, 4/26) "More than 20,000 customers here and in Solana Beach would pay more for their water under a proposal before the irrigation district's board of directors." River Pines gets OK to lift boil water order (Amador Ledger-Dispatch, 4/26) "The California Department of Health Services in a letter last week gave the River Pines Public Utilities District the green light to issue an order lifting the district's 4-year-old "boil water order," a local group said in a release." Colorado lawmakers pass unprecedented charter (Associated Press, 4/26) "Hoping to end Colorado's in-state battles over scarce water, a House committee has approved an unprecedented charter for compacts between users in different river basins meant to bring together groups ranging from fishermen to farmers." —  Uranium Dealing with uranium traces a headache for Ceres (Ceres Courier, 4/26) "The presence of excessive amounts of uranium in two city wells have sent city department blazing a new trail within the state bureaucracy." —  Levees Officials hurry to meet deadline for levee funds (Examiner, 4/27) "East Palo Alto officials rushed Wednesday to submit an emergency application for state funds to repair the damaged San Francisquito Creek levee this week before a deadline set for today, officials said." Levee project crawls forward (Santa Cruz Sentinel, 4/27) "Anxiety levels rose in communities along the Pajaro River as March's wet weather streamed into April." —  Surface Water Amador Water Agency approves $1M canal fix (Amador Ledger-Dispatch, 4/26) "The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors approved an emergency repair project Friday for the Amador Canal, which will build a 3,200-foot, 18-inch pipeline to bypass a collapse." Make room for the river: Restoring the Danube (ENN, 4/26) Thanks to Mark Moss for this one: "Floodwaters have returned to central Europe, menacing towns, villages and human lives. Swollen by heavy rain and melting snow, the Danube River — Europe’s second longest river behind the Volga — hit its highest level in Romania in 111 years in April, swamping ports and thousands of hectares of farmland." —  Floodwater DWR directs recent flood fight activities (DWR News Release, 4/26) Video. "California has experienced two major flood events in 2006. This three-minute video shows some DWR activities during the January and April storms to fight floods, protect communities and rebuild damaged portions of the state's levee system." —  Runoff Farmers seek ways to meet stricter water rules (LA Times, 4/26) "Questions about new state water quality guidelines that for the first time require agricultural landowners to test runoff from their irrigated properties drew nearly 100 farmers, ranchers and other growers to a meeting in Oxnard on Tuesday." Palco permits decision put off (Eureka-Times Standard, 4/26) "Water quality officials put off issuing permits that could regulate the Pacific Lumber Co.'s logging in Freshwater Creek and Elk River, and instead asked that two proposals be fused." —  Wastewater Rainbow directors to discuss wastewater plan (NC Times, 4/27) "The Rainbow Municipal Water District's plans for dealing with the district's wastewater over the next several years will be the topic of a board workshop Friday, officials said." Los Osos begs for help, but Bianchi isn't moved (SLO Tribune, 4/27) "Calling their town the county's 'stepchild' and claiming that its residents may soon face homelessness, Los Osos residents Tuesday implored county supervisors to attend their Friday meeting with the Regional Water Quality Control Board as a show of support." Septic misstep was avoidable (SLO Tribune, 4/27) Editorial. "After threatening for months to take action against individual property owners in Los Osos, state water authorities now have little choice but to delay a septic-tank pumping plan while they study its impacts on air quality." City of Lakeport wastewater issue discussed (Lake County Record-Bee, 4/26) "On Tuesday, the City of Lakeport approached the Board of Supervisors to ask for support in exploring ways to dispose of the city's wastewater." —  Toxic Waste Stringfellow sinkhole raises toxic-waste issue (Riverside P/E, 4/27) "The state has launched tests to determine the source and solution to a 5-foot-deep sinkhole that has developed at the Stringfellow acid pits, one of the Inland region's most infamous toxic cleanup sites, officials said Wednesday." —  Air Quality Bakersfield is number one in smog (Bakersfield Californian, 4/27) "Bakersfield is the nation's smog king. It's a title typically held by Southern California, but according to a report released today by the American Lung Association, Bakersfield now reigns." —  Local/Agency News Tahoe water company may be sold to district (Tahoe Daily Tribune, 4/26) "Discovering that meeting water quality and fire-flow standards would prove costly, Lukins Brothers Water Co. may sell the last of Tahoe's small water systems to South Tahoe Public Utility 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