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Thursday, May 4, 2006 Quote of the Day: "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." Douglas Adams Born on this Day: Sir Thomas Lawrence, Thomas Huxley, Audrey Hepburn, Dick Dale, Ron Carter, Nick Ashford, Paul Gleason, Stella Parton, Jackie Jackson, Pia Zadora, Randy Travis, Mary McDonough, and Lance Bass. On this Day in 1998: Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento. The sentence was under a plea agreement that spared Kaczynski the death penalty. 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: Olivenhain Municipal Water District: Water Treatment Plant Operator Grade III The Sea Ranch Water Company: Field Operations Supervisor Marina Coast Water District: District Engineer City of Redlands: Water Production Maintenance Supervisor Encina Wastewater Authority: Wastewater Operator West Valley Water District: Bookkeeper I Want more? See all postings. Celebrate National Drinking Water Week! May 7-13 For more than 30 years, the American Water Works Association has celebrated Drinking Water Week with its members. In 1988, AWWA brought the event to the attention of our government and formed a coalition along with the League of Women Voters, the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, and the US EPA. Rep. Robert Roe and Sen. Dennis DeConcini subsequently sponsored a resolution to name the first full week of May as National Drinking Water Week. Today's News —  Water Supply Carlsbad told desal could supply all water by '20 (SD Union Tribune, 5/4) "The city could be self-sufficient in water by 2020 if it approves construction of an ocean-water desalination plant, the Planning Commission was told during a hearing on the proposal last night." As weather warms, snowpack melts (Sacramento Bee, 5/3) COLUMN. "Spring has finally sprung in California, a month later than usual, and with the abrupt change of seasons after a very wet winter, the immense mountain snowpack is beginning to melt rapidly." Big snowmelt turns rivers deadly (Sacramento Bee, 5/3) "Snow in the Sierra Nevada has accumulated up to 150 percent of what California needs for its water supply. Now that abundance is filling reservoirs, forcing water managers to open dam gates." County readies for release from Kern River (Bakersfield Californian, 5/3) "This much water may be too much of good thing. The Kern River flows over large rocks in the Kern River Canyon around sunset. The county is preparing to release stored water and increase flow from 1,500 cubic feet per second to 4,000 cfs." Drought buster (Reno Gazette-Journal, 5/3) "The rivers are rushing with water but there's more -- quite a lot more -- where it's coming from. We're talking about snow." —  Infrastructure/Bond Levees get some support in the Senate (Tracy Press, 5/4) "Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Wednesday that she’s secured $13.4 million more for Sacramento flood protection and levee repairs in an emergency spending bill expected to pass the Senate this week." Opposition to levee plan is retracted (Sacramento Bee, 5/4) "An Oklahoma Republican senator, facing certain defeat on an amendment to strip levee-repair money along the Sacramento River from an emergency spending bill, abruptly withdrew his measure Wednesday as California's two Democratic senators announced that another $13 million for levee work had been added to the swelling $108.5 billion measure." Senate closes in on bond ballot package (San Francisco Chronicle, 5/3) "Lawmakers may vote this week on a bond package of more than $35 billion to relieve highway congestion, build new schools and shore up the state's deteriorating levees." EPA's new partnership to help ensure water infrastructure sustainability (EPA, 5/3) NEW RELEASE. "EPA along with six leading water and wastewater utility organizations announced a statement of intent to ensure the long-term viability of our nation's water systems to promote effective utility management. The formal partnership will focus on improved water and wastewater utility performance through education, management tools and performance measures." —  Prop 50 MWA one step closer to Prop 50 funds (Mojave Water Agency, 5/3) NEW RELEASE. "After an eight month wait, Mojave Water Agency (MWA) has learned that it is one of 16 finalists in the state that will compete for a potential $25 million in funding from a water bond approved by voters in 2002. Out of 50 proposals received by the state’s Department of Water Resources, MWA’s proposal received the highest overall score in a highly competitive process." —  Wetlands and Lagoons State warns of mercury in river fish (Sacramento Bee , 5/3) "State officials are warning people to limit the fish they eat from the lower Cosumnes and Mokelumne rivers because the flesh contains elevated levels of mercury, a nerve poison." Casitas requests fishing prohibition in Ventura River Watershed (Casitas Municipal Water District, 5/3) NEW RELEASE.  "The Casitas Municipal Water District plans to ask the California Department of Fish and Game to change its existing policy that permits unrestricted fishing in the Ventura River Watershed due to interagency efforts to protect the endangered Southern California Steelhead." —  Wastewater Sewer upgrade sped up in Morro Bay, Cayucos (SLO Tribune, 5/4) "Morro Bay and Cayucos officials have agreed to shorten the time they will need to upgrade their sewer plant from 9.5 to 8 years." Foes of Dixon city sewer plan rally (Vacaville Reporter, 5/4) "Dixon city officials and opponents of a proposed sewer rate increase agree on one thing: the opponents need to gather many more signatures if they hope to stop the increase. The question is, how many signatures?" —  Runoff Common soap antiseptic found in U.S. crop fields (Reuters, 5/3) "A chemical widely used to make soap 'antiseptic' survives sewage treatment and is being spread onto farmland and released into water, with unknown effects, researchers reported Tuesday." —  Meetings/Events Integrated Water And Flood Management: Best Levee And Water Practices From The Dutch Experience - May 11th (Netherlands Consulate-General, Netherlands Office for Science & Technology, 5/3) NEW RELEASE. "The goal of this seminar is to facilitate maximum knowledge exchange. Specific attention will be given to best practices and innovative concepts for integrated water management, flood management and water security. Finally, there will be ample opportunity to interact directly with the Dutch experts to discuss these important issues." 5th Annual Watershed Education Day for Legislators - May 10th (California Watershed Network, 5/3) NEW RELEASE. "You can celebrate May Watershed Awareness Month by joining other watershed partnerships in this year's Watershed Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, May 10th. This event is a great opportunity to learn about the political climate regarding the future of watershed management." —  Local/Agency News Butte asks for FERC hearing, says DWR plans inadequate (Chico ER, 5/4) "Butte County has a message for the state Department of Water Resources, and in plain terms it wouldn't be printable in a family newspaper." Anderson-Cottonwood gets to source of feud (Redding Record-Searchlight, 5/3) EDITORIAL: "The water district's directors and many customers have been loudly at odds for years. A long-term federal water contract, the full-time manager's employment, accusations of Brown Act violations, questions about who lives where and who paid the water bill late have all fed a steady stream of arguments." —  Global Warming Warming weakens vast Pacific climate system (Rueters, 5/4) Thanks to Mark Moss for this one: "Climate scientists identified a likely new victim of global warming Wednesday: the vast looping system of air currents that fuels Pacific trade winds and climate from South America to Indonesia." China's 'roof of the world' glaciers melting fast (Reuters , 5/3) "Glaciers covering China's Qinghai-Tibet plateau are shrinking by 7 percent a year due to global warming and the environmental consequences may be dire, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday." —  After Katrina New Orleans still wary of levees (Reuters, 5/1) "As the storm season looms — one that forecasters predict will be active — integrity of the levees is an overriding concern for residents and politicians as the region rebuilds." Related News • Catastrophic storm not assessed, panel concludes • Katrina reshaped political map of New Orleans The Report • State's sewer systems decimated • Three pumps burned up in light rainstorm >>> Corps pledges to speed repairs >>> Doubts raised about pump stations • Katrina flooding reasons still being debated • Hurricane authors compare Camille, Katrina   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