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Wednesday, August 9, 2006 Quote of the Day:  "The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of our planet." John F. Kennedy (Thanks to Nicole Apel for this one.) Born on this Day: Roger Shaw, Merle Kilgore, David Steinberg, Sam Elliott, Ken Norton, Doug Williams, Melanie Griffith, Amanda Bearse, Aimme Mann, Whitney Houston, Deion Sanders, Pat Peterson, Gillian Anderson, and Jackie Mae Griffin. On this Day in 1930: Betty Boop had her beginning in "Dizzy Dishes" created by Max Fleischer. Sent to more than 25,000 readers nationwide... and thousands more via our lineup of online ads like the one above that appears on watertechonline.com Latest postings: MWD: Engineering Technician MWD: Assistant Engineer LPVCWD: Crew Leader MWD of Orange County: Financial Analyst MCWD: Assistant Engineer Want more? See all postings. Pic of the Week Sunset over the Casa Grande Storage Ponds (Photos: Grady Henry, Lab Tech, Casa Grande WRF) Do you have a photo you'd like to submit? Send us an e-mail.   Today's News —  California Water Supply Judge sides with Foster Farms (Fresno Bee, 8/8) "A Merced County judge said Tuesday that Livingston city officials cannot cut off Foster Farms' water supply." Mendocino County agencies back water plan (Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 8/9) "Capturing water from high Russian River flows during wet winter months and storing it in a new off-site reservoir near Hopland is seen by some as the best answer to inland Mendocino County's water supply woes."  —  Across the Globe National water grid in Britain 'not viable' (BBC, 8/9) "The water company responsible for Europe's biggest man-made lake has described a possible national water grid as 'not a viable idea.'" Rebels in Sri Lanka release disputed water (Associated Press, 8/9) "On July 20, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels blocked water supplies to 60,000 people in government-controlled villages in northeastern Trincomalee district, 135 miles northeast of Colombo." Gov. Bush won't attend tri-state water meeting (Associated Press, 8/9) "Florida Gov. Jeb bush won't attend a meeting next week with the governors of Georgia and Alabama." Senate blasts corps handling of Ga. watershed (Associated Press, 8/8) "Georgia's two U.S. Senators on Tuesday chastised the Army Corps of Engineers for accidentally releasing billions of gallons of water from Lake Lanier as the state slid into a drought." No water at Libyan embassy in D.C. (Associated Press, 8/8) "Libya wants to reopen an embassy in the United States, but it can't get the District of Columbia to turn on the water." —   Hetch Hetchy Call to expand Hetch Hetchy sparks protest (San Jose Mercury, 8/9) "San Francisco's top water official on Tuesday said that rather than tearing down the reservoir and dam at Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley, the city should consider building the dam higher and flooding more of the park." Take down dam inside Yosemite? (Associated Press, 8/8) "Today, even as the Hetch Hetchy system delivers some of the country’s highest quality drinking water to 2.4 million Bay Area residents, environmentalists continue to argue for restoring the valley — a debate that was intensified in July when a state review found that the job would be 'technically feasible' for an estimated $3 billion to $10 billion." —  Wetlands and Waterways Sonoma waterways proposals stir more debate (Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 8/9) "Property owners and environmentalists clashed again Tuesday as Sonoma County planning commissioners wrapped up 14 hours of sometimes heated testimony on proposed changes to the general plan."  Bair Island restoration nears approval (Oakland Tribune, 8/9) "San Mateo County residents can get a taste of the Bay's historic ecology at Bair Island, and the plan to restore 1,400 acres of wetlands there is finally on the verge of a green light — figuratively and literally." Lake Tahoe clarity holds steady in 2005 (UC Davis, 8/8) "The waters of Lake Tahoe were clear to an average depth of 72.4 feet in 2005, according to UC Davis scientists who have monitored the lake since 1968. That keeps the clarity measurement in the range where it has been for the past five years -- and where it was for other multiyear periods in the 1990s." —  Ocean News Advocate works to heal the toxic ocean (LA Daily News, 8/7) COLUMN. "Hillary Hauser walks, talks and drives as if she's in a race. A race to save the ocean. Every few minutes, her outrage bubbles up and she practically spits her words." —  Wastewater/Spills Spill closes two miles of Santa Monica beaches (LA Times, 8/9) "Two miles of beaches on Santa Monica Bay were ordered closed Tuesday after an estimated 20,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled into Ballona Creek." Butte supervisors to review sewage plan (Chico ER, 8/8) "Supervisors went on to schedule further review and study of a proposed ordinance and policy revisions related to privately operated on-site sewage disposal." —  The Nukes Nevada loses court battle over nuclear waste (Associated Press, 8/8) "Nevada was dealt a blow in its effort to avoid a radioactive waste dump Tuesday as a federal appeals court turned aside arguments against transportation plans." —  Solid Waste Judge orders east valley dump shut (The Desert Sun, 8/9) "A dump on an east valley Indian reservation could be forced to close under an order by a Riverside federal judge." —  Meetings SCWUA 2006 Vendors' Fair - Sept. 21st (SCWUA, 8/8) NEWS RELEASE. "It's that time of year once again...time to register for the upcoming SCWUA 2006 Vendors' Fair - at Irwindale Speedway on Thursday, September 21st." See the registration form. —  Local/Agency News IRWD offers high efficiency toilet rebates (IRWD, 8/9) NEWS RELEASE. "Irvine Ranch Water District residential customers may now qualify to receive up to a $430 rebate per eligible High Efficiency Toilet (HET) purchased to replace existing 'water-guzzling' toilets installed prior to 1992.  There is a limit of three rebates per residence, while funding lasts." Audit questions DWP's handling of contracts (LA Times, 8/9) "A preliminary audit released Tuesday calls into question the way the Department of Water and Power handles its contracts, saying the process lacks oversight and might make the utility vulnerable to overbilling by contractors"  —  City of San Diego Audit Report on S.D. mismanagement emerges (SD Union Tribune, 8/9) "Consultants investigating the city's finances issued a detailed and critical report Tuesday documenting misconduct by city officials, including former and current City Council members and former top city administrators." Audit finds S.D. billed $1 million incorrectly (SD Union Tribune, 8/8) "San Diego should reimburse its water and sewer funds more than $1 million to correct accounting errors that led to the city's ratepayers being charged for work that should have been paid out of tax revenue, Mayor Jerry Sanders said yesterday." Sanders to urge that funds be transferred back (SD Union Tribune, 8/8) "Mayor Jerry Sanders announced on Monday that he would be asking the City Council to transfer more than $1 million back to the city's water and wastewater enterprise funds after an outside audit showed the funds were misused four years ago."   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