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Monday, May 15, 2006 Quote of the Day: "It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends." J. K. Rowling Born on this Day: Joseph Cotten, Max Frisch, Eddy Arnold, Jasper Johns, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Madeleine Albright, Paul Rudd, Lainie Kazan, K.T. Oslin, Lee Horsley, Emmitt Smith, David Charvet, Ahmet Rodan Zappa, and Amy Chow. On this Day in 1970: U.S. President Nixon appointed America's first two female generals. 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: Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District: Accounting Manager City of Napa: Professional Civil Engineer Seattle Public Utilities: Water Resources BAM City of Phoenix: Water Resource Specialist City of Oceanside: Water/Wastewater Project Manager City of Redlands: Senior Water Treatment Operator Want more? See all postings. Today's News —  Water Plenty of water for San Joaquin Valley farmers (Tracy Press, 5/15) "This spring's heavy rain and snow means that for the first time in 10 years San Joaquin Valley farmers will get all of the water they want." Shroud of secrecy lifts on water bill (The Reporter, 5/15) "Legislation aimed at improving the water supplies and environmental restoration in the vast Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta no longer contains secrecy provisions that could have obscured some of the government's activities from the public." Backcountry water: wellsprings of worry (SD Union Tribune, 5/14) "Most people in a large city don't know the folks who run their water system. They just turn on their tap and assume what comes out is safe, clean and always available." Students work on ways to save water (Pasadena Star News, 5/13) "For the past year, students at Pasadena City College have been building a small swamp. Doing their part in a worldwide effort to help the more than 1 billion people without access to safe water, their inspiration came from nature." Lucerne residents told to conserve water (Record Bee, 5/13) "More than 50 Lucerne residents attended an update meeting on local water issues on Thursday night at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center to hear what to expect on their upcoming water bills as well as to hear more about taking control of their water." Riverbank assures public well water is safe (Modesto Bee, 5/13) "Two city wells have tested positive for chromium. So have monitoring sites at a nearby wood-treatment company on Patterson Road. A city official said Friday that there is no risk to the public." Better water for Davis, UCD? (Davis Enterprise, 5/12) "Today, when people turn on faucets in homes and businesses in Davis and Woodland and at UC Davis, the water that pours into drinking glasses or onto dirty dishes is from the ground beneath them." Entity pulls out of IID talks (IV Press, 5/12) "The Local Entity has pulled out of dispute talks between the Imperial Irrigation District and San Diego County Water Authority." —  Dams Flood measure renews hopes on Auburn dam (Sacramento Bee, 5/12) "A key House subcommittee revived hopes for an Auburn dam Thursday, tucking $3 million for a new study of the controversial project into a sweeping $187 million allocation for flood-control work throughout the Sacramento region." Pike escape from dam spill feared (Sacramento Bee, 5/12) "State officials are nervously watching the water level at Lake Davis, where nonnative northern pike have been multiplying for more than a decade." —  Surface Water Water-pollution report on bay cleanup is late (SD Union Tribune, 5/15) "More than a year after water-pollution regulators issued the largest bay sediment cleanup order in county history, they have yet to publish the scientific justification for their demands." San Joaquin River too high to count rabbits killed (Stockton Record, 5/15) "Wildlife officials still don't know how many endangered rabbits died in recent floods along the San Joaquin River. The water's still too high. Yet in the end, the disaster could improve the rabbits' chances next time around." Tehama County report evaluates watershed (Redding Record-Searchlight, 5/12) "A recently released assessment of the watershed in the western half of Tehama County covers topics as varied as fire history and land use." —  Mercury Judge rules: No mercury warning on tuna (Inside Bay Area, 5/14) "California has lost its battle to require warning labels on canned tuna after a state judge concluded any warning of mercury contamination would needlessly scare people away from the fish."   —  Runoff Drainage maps for Menifee drawn up on the fly (NC Times, 5/14) "It didn't come as news to Tom Fuhrman that the county has few master drainage plans for the area ---- the runoff onto his land from nearby developments was a clue ---- but that an official recently admitted as much was surprising."  —  Wastewater Hilmar Cheese pays massive pollution fine (LA Times, 5/13) "One of the world's largest cheese companies paid California water regulators a $3-million fine for polluting water for years by illegally flushing wastewater from its plant." Tahoe sewage spill overestimated (Contra Costa Times, 5/13) "A proposed $700,000 fine for a sewage spill at Lake Tahoe likely will be reduced because the size of the spill was vastly overestimated, officials said."  Morro Bay-Cayucos discharges unchanged (SLO Tribune, 5/13) "The fate of Morro Bay's sewer plant was left in limbo Thursday when the regional water board could not decide whether to allow it to continue to discharge partially treated wastewater into the ocean." Morro Bay sewer plant's future uncertain (SLO Tribune, 5/12) "The fate of Morro Bay’s sewer plant was left in limbo Thursday when the regional water board could not decide whether to allow the plant to continue to discharge partially treated wastewater into the ocean." —  Superfunds $70 million brings blighted property back to life (EPA, 5/13) NEWS RELEASE. "Communities in 44 states and two territories, as well as three tribes will share $69.9 million in grants to help transform community eyesores into community gems. The grants, from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, promote the redevelopment of abandoned and contaminated or potentially contaminated waste sites. In all, 209 applicants were selected to receive 292 grants for assessment or cleanup of properties." —  Meetings AWA Of Ventura County 14th Annual Water Symposium (AWA Ventura County, 5/11) May 18. "Presented In Partnership with Calleguas Municipal Water District and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California 'Lessons from the Past... Vision for the Future.' Join us as we look back on the historical perspective of California's water infrastructure and explore future planning options." —  Local/Agency News Company to hike fees for Central Coast water (Santa Maria Times, 5/15) "About 13,000 Central Coast water customers could pay for millions in legal fees accrued by their utility company during an ongoing battle over Santa Maria Valley groundwater." Minority misrepresents facts on Lake Elsinore project (NC Times, 5/13) OPINION. "Contrary to what you might have read recently, the Lake Elsinore Advance Pumped Storage project is not the end of the world. It will not destroy the forest. There are no secret meetings going on about the project, and aliens have not invaded Earth." Grand jury wants to see Osos' paper trail (SLO Tribune, 5/13) "CSD is urged to reveal what services were rendered and billed by district's law firm and if the billings were proper." 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