About Brown and Caldwell

Specialty Pages Asset Management Infrastructure Funding Water Resources SWRCB New Collection System Regulatory Program BC News Exclusives Water Buffalos Ride With Purpose

Staff Ken Harlow, Crusty Editor Jennifer Finley, Managing Editor (E-mail Jennifer)

Recent News 5/22/2006 5/23/2006 5/24/2006 5/25/2006 5/26/2006 Archives About this newsletter Reader kudos Reader FAQs

Resources Meetings Agency links Other links Blogs: Hill Water Issues blog Los Osos Sewer blog Notakeover.info Politics of water ScienceBlog.com Tothelastdrop

Wednesday, May 31, 2006 Quote of the Day: "It's time for the human race to enter the solar system." Dan Quayle Born on this Day: Walt Whitman, Norman Vincent Peale, Don Ameche, Prince Rainier III, Clint Eastwood, Peter Yarrow, Joe Namath, Sharon Gless, Johnny Paycheck, Tom Berenger, Kyle Secor, Chris Elliot, Lea Thompson, Corey Hart, Kid Frost, Brooke Shields, Charlie Schlatter, and Curtis Williams Jr. On this Day in 1884: Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patented "flaked cereal." 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: Cucamonga Valley Water District: Field Service Representative I/II City of Benicia: Laboratory Technician I/II DOQ City of Anaheim: Civil Engineer Eugene Water & Electric Board: Water Management Technician City of La Habra: Service Worker M-40 Want more? See all postings. Pic of the Week Klamath River "This is the aftermath of winter floods to the Klamath CSD sewage disposal field, located on the Klamath River. Note the leach lines hanging out over the Klamath River. Luckily, they did have a back-up disposal field." Thanks to Doug Davenport, Native American Tech, California Rural Water Association. Do you have a photo you'd like to submit? Send us an e-mail. Today's News —  Water Supply Stockton districts prepare for battle over flow (Stockton Record, 5/31) "A battle to get the federal government to release water promised to Stockton residents is heading for trial this fall." Extend water recycling efforts (Pasadena Star-News, 5/31) OPINION. "There is no reason why Los Angeles County should not proceed with an extension of the Sanitation Districts' water recycling project at the county's largest park. Yet for some reason, it is being held up by red tape." Water war bubbles in Tres Pinos (Pinnacle News, 5/30) "Longer than California has been a state, the high-stakes battles over water have played out in myriad locales, intensities and outcomes - the latest of which is bubbling up in the tiny San Benito County town of Tres Pinos." Looking up for water (Monterey Herald, 5/30) "As they spent thousands of dollars drilling fruitless wells and thousands more trucking in water, Jim and Carolyn Bowen worried about how to keep irrigating the 1½-acre garden paradise that surrounds their Santa Cruz mountains' home." —  Infrastructure State Senate approves bill to overhaul levee board (Monterey Herald, 5/31) "Setting up a likely showdown with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state Senate on Tuesday voted mostly along party lines to overhaul the board the governor appointed in the fall to oversee California's aging levee system." New Natomas levee angst (Sacramento Business Journal, 5/30) "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is adding its weight to findings that the Natomas Basin's flood-control levees are not very flood-proof after all -- a pronouncement that could temporarily squelch development in one of the region's largest planned-growth areas." To dam, or just think about it (Fresno Bee, 5/30) "Farmers and Fresno city leaders say the time has come for a new dam on the San Joaquin River — the first such major project in more than six decades." Romania borrows million to update infrastructure (Associated Press, 5/30) "Romania on Monday signed agreements for euro55 million (US$70 million) in loans from the European Investment Bank to modernize the country's water infrastructure, the government said." —  Flood Control Flood of concern; Riverside updates response plans (Riverside P/E, 5/28) "When Jackie Burnip looks out her kitchen window, a sliver of the imposing 2-mile-long earthen dam that holds back billions of gallons of water in Lake Perris looms above a flowering purple bush in her backyard." —  Antifreeze AWWA cautions Congress on antifreeze mandate (WaterWeek, 5/30) "AWWA has objected to a House bill that mandates use of denatonium benzoate (DB) as a 'bittering' agent in antifreeze and grants liability immunity to manufacturers and sellers of such antifreeze." —  Surface Water Fish are biting at Salton Sea (The Desert Sun, 5/31) "The sea is a terminal lake, which means the only way water leaves is through evaporation. When it evaporates, salt, fertilizers, selenium and everything else that comes with the agricultural runoff that supplies the sea's water stays behind. It contributes to increasingly salty and nutrient-rich water that can produce bad smells and massive fish kills." See Davis Wetlands on your bikes (Vacaville Reporter, 5/30) "For the first time, the docents of the city of Davis Wetlands will be leading two separate tours of the wetlands on Saturday morning. The regular monthly tour for guests in autos (with short walks) will leave at 9 a.m., and an earlier tour for visitors on bicycles will leave at 8 a.m. Both tours are free and meet about 15 minutes ahead of departure time." Berkeley creeks proposal making waves (San Francisco Chronicle, 5/30) "Berkeley homeowners and environmentalists are bracing for a fight over yet another revision to a controversial ordinance governing construction near the city's myriad creeks, even though city officials say it is a 'very carefully crafted and honed' compromise." Marsh Park to help keep garbage out of L.A. River (Contra Costa Times, 5/30) "A small pocket of land on the banks of the Los Angeles River is working overtime, providing recreational space to a crowded urban area and acting as a filter for garbage that would otherwise end up in the water." Salt River effort keeps rolling (Eureka Times Standard, 5/30) "Federal funding that would be secured for the Salt River if the U.S. Senate approves it would provide an important backup to a vital project for Ferndale, officials say." —  Water Rate Rules Proposed water rate rules are dropped (LA Times, 5/31) "California regulators have scrapped proposed rate-making rules for the state's biggest private water companies after consumer advocates complained they were written by industry lawyers." —  Wastewater Santa Paula to borrow for new sewage plant (Ventura County Star, 5/30) "For most of the 1990s, Santa Paula residents enjoyed some of the county's lowest sewage rates, at just $11.35 a month."   —  Meetings Water Advisory Committee of Orange County (WACO, 5/30) NEWS RELEASE. "Program: Delta Levee Stability in Northern California – Strategies for Reducing the Risks - Dennis Majors, Engineering Program Manager, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; and Panel Discussion on Delta Emergency Preparedness - Hon. Peer Swan, President, Irvine Ranch Water District Deven Upadhyay, Principal Analyst, Municipal Water District of Orange County." —  Local/Agency News Paradise council seeks loan from water board (Auburn Journal, 5/31) "The town of Paradise is looking for some financial help from the Paradise Irrigation District for a traffic light project." DWR celebrates 50th anniversary at State Capitol (DWR, 5/31) NEWS RELEASE."As the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) undertakes an historic effort to upgrade and strengthen California's aging flood control system, the Department's accomplishments of the past 50 years will be displayed and celebrated with the public on the State Capitol west steps and lawn, Wednesday, May 31." Sonoma solar project dedicated by officials (Sonoma County Water Agency, 5/30) NEWS RELEASE. "Sonoma County Water Agency (Agency), aided by a $1.6 million rebate from PG&E, has installed solar (photovoltaic) panels on its Administration Building roof and on ground-mounted shaded power canopies. The project will save the Agency approximately $117,000 each year in energy costs and is part of the Agency’s larger Sustainability Initiative." —  Everything Else Dutch preparing for 14-inch ocean rise by 2050 (Associated Press, 5/31) "The Dutch can expect wetter winters and a threatening rise in sea levels of up to 35 centimeters (14 inches) by 2050, said a report Tuesday by the national weather service." 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