Tag Archive for: Water Politics

New State Water Regulations Cause Angst on All Sides

/in , /by /Bakersfield.comby Lois Henry

A new set of water regulations aimed at protecting California’s native fish came down from the state earlier this week to near universal condemnation from both agricultural and environmental water folks.

The regulations are contained in a 143-page “incidental take permit” issued by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife that lays out when — and how much — water can be pumped out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by the State Water Project.

Agricultural contractors who get water from the project fear they could lose up to 300,000 acre-feet a year under the new permit.

Environmentalists say the permit gives a “free pass” to pumpers and is a path to extinction for native fish.
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OPINION: Proposition 3: Two Biggest Reasons To Oppose Water Bond In November Election

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

Proposition 3, which asks voters to approve $8.9 billion in bond funds for water projects, has a surface appeal. The state’s need for improved water infrastructure and new water storage facilities is plain. But there are strong reasons to reject it. The first and most obvious is that Proposition 3 is on the ballot not because the Legislature thought it was necessary but because of signature-gatherers paid by those who stand to benefit from the bond. A July 16 CALmatters story noted that more than half the money raised to promote the measure came from business groups and farmers seeking specific improvements, especially to the 152-mile-long Friant-Kern Canal in the Central Valley.

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Water Officials Take Records Dispute To State Supreme Court

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Jeff McDonald Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego County water officials have long been at odds with their counterparts in Los Angeles, who control millions of gallons imported every day into the southwest corner of California. But a new dispute has broken out between the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and its member agency, the San Diego County Water Authority — and it’s not about the wet stuff. Instead, lawyers for both sides are fighting over what qualifies as a public record. Attorneys for the San Diego water agency want to know how Metropolitan calculated its rates and other charges.

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OPINION: Proposition 3: An $8.87 Billion Water And Habitat Bond

/in , /by /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Jerry Meral

California needs a clean, safe and reliable water supply to meet its needs as the population grows and the climate changes. Proposition 3 will provide that water supply for people, agriculture, and our native fish and wildlife. Proposition 3 is a general obligation bond, and will not raise taxes. Some of its most important features include

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Statewide November Vote Could Be Key To Solving Borrego Springs Water Woes

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby J. Harry Jones

A major step toward solving the water woes of the desert community of Borrego Springs depends on passage of a statewide $8.8 billion bond initiative in November known as Proposition 3. If it passes, $35 million would go to Borrego, much of which would be used to purchase and fallow farmland in the Borrego Valley. “We are very hopeful,” said Beth Hart, president of the Borrego Water District. “If it goes through then the struggles the community has been facing and will be facing in the future under the Sustainable Ground Management Act (SGMA) will find some significant relief.”

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Feds Order Water Release Changes After Trump Tweets On California Wildfires

/in , /by /CBS Sacramentoby Kyle Buis

Despite firefighters saying there is no need for more water to fight California’s wildfires, the Commerce Department is paving the way for more water pumping. The move comes after President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday and Monday that California’s water rules were leaving firefighters without enough water, a statement Cal Fire officials say isn’t true. The president appears to have confused firefighting efforts in California with the state’s water rights system and how water allotments are meted out to farmers and water agencies throughout California. Firefighters are able to draw water from nearby reservoirs and ponds if necessary.

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At A Meeting About Brown Water Pouring From Taps, Congresswoman Says People Were Paid To Speak Out In Favor Of Water District

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ruben Vives and Adam Elmahrek

At a town hall Monday, Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán alleged that people were paid to pose as residents to speak out in support of an embattled water district, marking a strange twist in the ongoing controversy over discolored water pouring out of taps in Compton and Willowbrook. The Sativa Los Angeles County Water District serves about 1,600 ratepayers in a half-mile area of Compton and Willowbrook. Residents have been complaining about brown-colored water with a foul odor.

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Judge Sides With City Of Fresno, Says City Can Impose Water Fees For New Development

/in , /by /The Fresno Beeby Brianna Calix

A Fresno Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the city of Fresno and upheld new water fees that ensure new homes will have enough water after some of Fresno’s largest developers filed a petition against the fees. Judge James M. Petrucelli issued his ruling May 30, saying attorneys for Granville Homes, Wathen Castanos Peterson Homes and Lennar Homes failed to show the fees exceeded reasonable costs, that they would be used for another purpose or that the fees are unlawful.

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“Trump And Pruitt Are Waging An All-Out Attack”: Inside The Battle To Save California’s Water

/in , /by /Vanity Fairby Bruno Navasky

The Tijuana River is a temporary river, which is to say that at times it runs dry. But when the rains come, it runs near bursting. After a healthy spring storm, tires and bottles litter the muddy banks. A refrigerator door reclines, half submerged in gray sediment. What looks like an old bathrobe hangs from the trees amid varicolored shreds of plastic bags, uninvited markers of high water. A bright yellow boom, broken free from a network of battens intended to snag larger flotsam, lies idle at the side of a catch basin in Goat Canyon.

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Imperial Irrigation District Elections: Candidates Backed By Powerful Farmers Fail

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Sammy Roth

Southern California voters toppled one Imperial Irrigation District board member and re-elected another, in a low-turnout election that nonetheless could have major consequences for millions of people who depend on water from the Colorado River. With all precincts reporting, El Centro city councilmember Alex Cardenas led 55-45 percent over incumbent IID director Juanita Salas, with about 1,800 votes counted. Meanwhile, IID board president Jim Hanks led challenger Raul Navarro, a member of Calipatria Unified School District’s board of trustees, 52-48, with fewer than 2,200 votes counted.

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